Idioms
Before reading
ek
Vu
rd er in gs
something fishy is going on hit the nail on the head have a heart of gold hold your tongue bark up the wrong tree a piece of cake a frog in my throat put your foot in it he’s off his rocker cutting corners hang in there that’s the last straw let the cat out of the bag
se m pl ar
Idioms are phrases that makes language more varied and interesting. Instead of just saying “I am hungry”, you can say “I could eat a horse”. Most likely, a sandwich or hamburger would be enough. You are not really planning on eating a horse! Some idioms are the same or similar in different languages. In Portuguese and Spanish you would say “I could eat an ox”, not a horse.
If a friend says that “cycling is a piece of cake”, what is she actually saying?
Talk about it! a Read the English idioms. What could you say in Norwegian? Do you have examples from other languages you know? b Why is it difficult to learn idioms and expressions in a new language? c Sometimes we use emojis to replace idioms. Which emoji would you use to say that you are hungry, thankful, busy or sorry? Wor k book 4 :9 — 4 : 1 1
131
