The weirdest phrases thread.

Elephants confuse me, as in;

The elephant in the room ........What do you mean?

We both ignored the elephant in the room...


We have a sale for White elephant goods
 
Lopéz said:
Some people in this thread really need to study English (and history) a bit more.

Most phrases and idioms are easily explained.
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Freefaller said:
Indeed. It's rather appalling.
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Well, I did study English for enough years to learn it from scratch. And I assure you at no point during those years anybody mentioned why cucumber is considered cool by anglo saxons. I'm a bit of history geek too, almost to the point that I would be happy to discuss formations at your random Battle Of Vienna in 1683, and yet that does not help me to understand why someone might become an apple of someone else's eye on this island. For all intents and purposes, when it comes to understanding idioms, my thorough education is as useful as chocolate tea pot. ;)

So, appalling or not, I believe it has to be down to you, two, to carry the fragile candle of wisdom, shed light and all that. Educate us. And I shall spread the knowledge among my peers.
 
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v0n said:
Well, I did study English for enough years to learn it from scratch. And I assure you at no point during those years anybody mentioned why cucumber is considered cool by anglo saxons. I'm a bit of history geek too, almost to the point that I would be happy to discuss formations at your random Battle Of Vienna in 1683, and yet that does not help me to understand why someone might become an apple of someone else's eye on this island. For all intents and purposes, when it comes to understanding idioms, my thorough education is as useful as chocolate tea pot. ;)

So, appalling or not, I believe it has to be down to you, two, to carry the fragile candle of wisdom, shed light and all that. Educate us. And I shall spread the knowledge among my peers.
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Idioms cannot be 'learned' by learning English (I should know). It has to do with the culture A LOT. You can't say that I've studied this language for 20 years and yet I still can't understand them, but it can't be me, it's you!

That is why to be a translator or interpreter you have to be billingual and not simply 'know' another language fluently.

As the 'apple in my eye' that is pretty simple. The 'apple' of your eye is the retina and just as your eyesight is precious and you protect your eyes and need them so much, the same way you love another person as if they were the apple of your eye (or you protect them as much).

Studying english and speaking them fluently is no match for living in a country and learning their idioms and habits up close. That's why many foreigners have trouble getting British comedy or American comedy or any kind of foreign comedy, because it's largely based on idioms and situations known only to the long-life residents of the country.

Simples!
 
My fav is when people say, "i dont like the cut of there jib" they say is all street talk and gangster like, when its an old sailing term, for spotting diffrent ships salis!
 
Sinque said:
Reminds me of something I seen online of some guy saying 'I'm not being racist but...' and then finishing with something not racist at all and people were kicking off :p
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:D *ahem*

A lot of these phrases tend get abbreviated, so they do then become a little weirder.
Most are fairly easily explainable though......i think.
 
Sinque said:
'My grandma just died...'

'I'm sorry.'

Why are they sorry? I've never understood it :o
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If you look at the origins of the word "sorry" it's to do with feeling sorrow in general, like remorse that something has happened. It's only the modern usage where responsibility is implicit.
 
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