Idioms

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi Alan,
I was reading an article abour Myanmar and I come across this idiom which I do not understand. …living life in a proverbial fish bowl.

Please explain the meaning of the idiom stated above.

Article from the newspaper.
(The idiom is in line five)

Armed with cameras of every size,curious visitors come in hordes.Every day,these
visitors wait patiently for the monks to queue up for their meals for a good snapshot.The monks seem used to the attention but one senses flashes of annoyance,especially among the older boys.Yes,paparazzi tourists like yours truly can be a pain,but the younger boys seem to enjoy living life in a proverbial fish bowl.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Lee

2

Hi,

‘Proverbial’ here means ‘typical’ ‘popular’ ‘well known’. - in the sense that this is how everyone describes it. If you are said to live in a fishbowl, it means that everyone is watching everything you do. You are constantly in the public eye.

Alan