Idioms

An idiom can be several different things - it could be another word for dialect, or the specific character or individuality of a language. The dictionary has quite a few different definitions for the word “idiom”, but in this article, we will be looking at one specific meaning: idiom as a type of common phrase or expression that has a figurative, rather than literal, meaning.

Idiom meaning

And so by this definition, an idiom is:

• A figure of speech, meaning that it is not to be taken literally.
• A well-established phrase or expression.
• A phrase or expression that is specific to a particular language or dialect - if you were to directly translate an idiom into another language, it would make no sense.

Are you ready to look at some examples of idioms? Well, let's "get the ball rolling" ...

Idiom examples in English language

There are many, many idioms in the English language (The Oxford Dictionary of Idioms lists over 10,000!). We've picked five common idioms that you may already be familiar with from everyday language (with some fun facts about their origins), and five interesting uses of idioms in Literature.

Below are some examples of idioms that are often used in daily language. Do you recognise or use any of these?

Start from scratch

To “start from scratch” means to start from the very beginning without being able to build on something that already exists.

If you lost all of your work and didn't have a backup, you could say, "Now I have to start again from scratch!" Or, if you were to bake your own bread from raw ingredients, then you could state, "I made this bread from scratch".

As you can see, these are figurative uses of the term, as neither of them involve any actual scratching.

This idiom most likely originates from cricket; lines have to be scratched into the ground to mark the pitch before a game begins, hence “starting from scratch”.

Let the cat out of the bag

To "let the cat out of the bag" means to accidentally give away a secret. This could mean revealing too much information in a conversation and then getting caught out.

For example, you're talking to your teacher and you accidentally mention the party you went to when you should have been revising: "I can't believe it, now I've let the cat out of the bag!" Or let's say you bought a surprise gift for your friend and they find the receipt: "Well, the cat's out of the bag now!"

Once again, these are figurative uses of the term as there is no actual cat involved.

This idiom originates from the 1700s; Merchants would sell piglets in bags, but would often trick customers by giving them a bag with a cat inside. If the cat got out of the bag, then the trick would be ruined; the cat would be literally out of the bag.

Fig. 1 - Now the cat's out of the bag!

Steal someone's thunder

When people use the idiom “stealing someone's thunder” these days, they usually mean stealing the attention or praise that somebody else wants - upstaging them, if you will. For example: Steve is just about to announce that he has found a four-leaf clover, and you wow the crowd by pulling out a ten-leaf clover. Steve says, "Way to steal my thunder!"

Another use of this idiom is to say that somebody stole another person's idea. Though rarely used in this way now, it is closer to the original, literal use of the phrase: in the early 1700s, a writer called John Dennis invented a way to create the sound of thunder so that he could use it as an effect in his play, Appius and Virginia (1709).

After this play flopped, he was not very happy to find somebody else using the same effect in a production of Macbeth (1606). They literally stole his thunder!

Turn the tables

To “turn the tables” means to reverse a situation where one side has the advantage. For example, if your football team is losing 5-0 at halftime, but then they come back and manage to score 6 goals, you might say, "We really turned the tables there!"

This idiom has its origin in “tables games” such as backgammon, and the practice of turning the table so that players' positions in the game would be reversed.

Burn your bridges

To "burn your bridges" means to do something (usually drastic) to cut yourself off from going back on a decision. Let's say it's Sarah's last day working for a company and she decides to shout insults at everyone in the office and paint the walls with peanut butter before she leaves. It's unlikely they'll ever allow her to work there again, so Sarah could say, "I've burnt my bridges with that company!"

Just like the other examples, this idiom once had a literal meaning; during a military campaign, the act of burning bridges over rivers would stop the enemy from fleeing but would also mean that you could not go back - there would be no way but forward. People believe that this idea of literally burning bridges originated during the days of the Roman Empire.

In all of the examples above, the meaning of these phrases is now almost exclusively figurative. They have become well-established, common phrases in the English language and people use them in a way that is completely divorced from their original (literal) meaning.

Common idioms in literature

Below are some examples of idioms found in literature:

Breaking the ice

This is an idiom that I'm sure we're all familiar with - to “break the ice” means to break the social awkwardness, usually by starting a conversation. For example, John wants to speak to an attractive lady but is too shy so turns to his friend and says, “I really want to get to know her but I don't know how to break the ice”. Or, at the start of a new term, a tutor might announce, “We're going to begin with some ice-breakers”, meaning little introductory games or exercises to get the students talking to each other.

This term appears in William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew (1590-1594) when Tranio tries to encourage Petruchio to speak to his love interest, Katharina:

“And if you break the ice and do this feat,

Achieve the elder, set the younger free

For our access ... "

As dead as a doornail

People generally use this idiom to describe something that isn't working anymore, for example: “That computer is as dead as a doornail”. You could also use it to describe a person or animal who has died, but this is obviously quite a flippant (and possibly disrespectful) term to use in that context!

"Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail."

This is also an example of simile, as it directly compares two things (in this case, a doornail and Jacob Marley - both are stiff and lifeless).

Burning the candle a both ends

Most of us know this idiom to mean “working morning till night” - in other words, burning the candle at both ends of the day . For example: “You need a holiday, you've been burning the candle at both ends”.

In Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem, “First Fig” (1920), she makes use of this imagery, perhaps to express her attitude towards life:

“My candle burns at both ends;

It will not last the night;

But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—

It gives a lovely light! "

This short poem is also an example of an extended metaphor.

Fig. 2 - Burning the candle at both ends.

Pushing up (the) daisies

This idiom could also be classed as a euphemism, as it is a less blunt way of saying that somebody is dead. For example: “I really miss my goldfish - he's pushing up daisies now”.

Wilfred Owen, the famous poet who fought in World War I, used this phrase in his poem, “A Terre” (1917-1918):

“'I shall be one with nature, herb, and stone'

Shelley would tell me. Shelley would be stunned:

The dullest Tommy hugs that fancy now. '

Pushing up daisies' is their creed, you know. "

In this extract, Owen talks about the Romantic notion of death being a return to nature ( “Shelley” refers to the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley) before reminding us that there is nothing glorious about death. "Pushing up daisies" is a suitably sanitized, flowery term that contrasts the brutal nature of the battlefield.

Elephant in the room

An “elephant in the room” refers to a controversial or awkward topic that is obvious, but that nobody wants to acknowledge. For example: “I was at a family gathering the other week, and everyone knew that Uncle Albert had just come out of jail - it was the elephant in the room”.

In Lemn Sissay's poem, “Elephant in the Room” (2008), he takes this common idiom and makes it literal, as you can see in this extract:

"It wasn't the footsteps stamped all over our home,

The cracked floorboards or its wont to roam.

It was the lie established, after I said, 'It's there.

For years you looked at me and said, 'Where, dear, where?' ”

Idioms vs proverbs - what's the difference?

A proverb is very similar to an idiom. Like an idiom, it is also a well-established short phrase or expression and most of the time it is figurative (meaning that it is metaphorical and should not be taken literally). The key difference is this: a proverb is designed to give advice or state a general truth, whereas an idiom does NOT give advice or wisdom - it is just a figure of speech that expresses a simple feeling or idea.

We're sure you are already familiar with many proverbs, but here are a few common examples, just so you get the idea:

Actions speak louder than words.

Meaning: a person's actions say more about their character than what they say.

Rome wasn't built in a day.

Meaning: creating something great may take a long time.

A stitch in time saves nine.

Meaning: it is better to fix a problem while it is small than to wait and let it get bigger.

Don't judge a book by its cover.

Meaning: don't value a thing, or person, by outer appearance only.

All good things come to an end.

Meaning: even positive experiences come to an end.

(Note that this proverb has a literal rather than figurative meaning.)

Let's compare idioms with proverbs so that you can see the similarities and differences more clearly:

Idioms vs metaphors - what's the difference?

Metaphor is a type of figurative language (meaning that it is not to be taken literally) that refers to one thing as another thing to make us see the similarities between them.

There is a lot of crossover between idioms and metaphors, as idioms often use metaphor. For example, when we talk about “the elephant in the room”, the “elephant” is a metaphor for something else (such as Uncle Albert's prison sentence, or your friend's terrible haircut that nobody wants to comment on!).

So when is a metaphor not an idiom? The answer is simple: when it is not a well-established phrase or expression. If I was to say, “I've parked my tin can outside”, this would be a metaphor (as I'm referring to my rusty old car as a tin can), but it is not an idiom, as it is not a set phrase or expression in the same way that, for example, "burning the candle at both ends" is.

Also, remember that idioms are specific to a particular language or dialect - if you were to translate them to another language, they would make no sense without explanation. "Let the cat out of the bag" is a meaningless phrase unless you understand the context or are already familiar with the idiom. Metaphors are generally more universal and require less context, so you could directly translate them to another language and (most of the time) they would still make sense.