Good day, friends!
Today’s literary term is one I’m sure you’ve heard of, since we talk about it often here in Editor’s Corner, and that is the idiom. Here’s how Merriam-Webster defines idiom:
: an expression in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either in having a meaning that cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements (such as up in the air for "undecided") or in its grammatically atypical use of words (such as give way)
Idioms aren’t just a phenomenon in English. They can be found in most languages, I would suspect. They are certainly one of the hardest things to learn when you are trying to pick up a foreign language, because even if you can translate the words themselves, they mean something different as an idiom. My cousin’s boys in Greece love to teach me new Greek idioms. They enjoy me trying to puzzle out the words to translate them, then they tell me what the idiomatic phrase actually means (and I can guarantee it is usually something naughty).
Whether you are a native speaker of English or it is a second language, here are some examples of common English idioms and their meanings.
| Idiom | Meaning |
| A blessing in disguise | a good thing that seemed bad at first |
| A dime a dozen | Something common |
| Beat around the bush | Avoid saying what you mean, usually because it is uncomfortable |
| Better late than never | Better to arrive late than not to come at all |
| Bite the bullet | To get something over with because it is inevitable |
| Break a leg | Good luck |
| Call it a day | Stop working on something |
| Cutting corners | Doing something poorly in order to save time or money |
| Give someone the benefit of the doubt | Trust what someone says |
| Go back to the drawing board | Start over |
| Hang in there | Don’t give up |
| Hit the sack | Go to sleep |
| Let someone off the hook | To not hold someone responsible for something |
| No pain, no gain | You have to work for what you want |
| On the ball | Doing a good job |
| Pull someone’s leg | To joke with someone |
| Pull yourself together | Calm down |
| Speak of the devil | The person we were just talking about showed up! |
| That’s the last straw | My patience has run out |
| To get bent out of shape | To get upset |
| Under the weather | Sick |
| We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it | Let’s not talk about that problem right now |
| Wrap your head around something | Understand something complicated |
For a selection of idioms in other languages (translated to English) you can check out a few here at FluentU. Donna has also recently graced us with two good collections of English idioms from around the world:
Enjoy your day!
Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications
Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com
Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/
Editor's Corner 
Leave a Reply