Buh bye idioms, it was nice getting to know you!

And so for the past 365 days we've learned about idioms together. Some we've all heard before, others we hadn't. Some I didn't even get to!

There's no doubt about it, as Flula Borg said, "The hardest portion of English, I must say it: Idioms." But now we all have a better knowledge about what some of the more obscure ones mean or intend to convey. I hope it was fun for you, it was for me!

I now leave you with this very profound thought *by* Ted (of Bill and Ted)...

365 is taking a break but a short one! I'll be back at the end of September with an all new 365. #ICannotWait #WaitForIt #HashtagNotPoundSign #TooManyHashtags #365Experiment #TakeAGuess #SeeYouSoon

Comments

Butter someone up

There are two probable origins for this idiom and I think both are equally plausible. The first one is that when you spread butter on bread you are buttering it up like one would do when trying to flatter someone. The second is in ancient India there was a practice of throwing balls of butter at statues to ask for favor, i.e. buttering them up. ( source ) When we use the phrase today we generally mean that extreme flattery is used to gain information or favor. It's not always necessarily a compliment.

Call it a Day

The literal use of this phrase hails from 1838 when the phrase originally was "call it half a day" to mean leaving work early. (source) The modern use of the phrase is to indicate ending something due to false sense of accomplishment.

More bang for your buck

This phrase was used a lot in 1953 but an earlier citation puts it at 1940 in a Metals and Plastics Publications advertisement. Read about it here . The phrase means you get more for your money.

Search This Blog