Idioms

Before reading

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?

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 bagVurderingseksemplar

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?