Some useful English phrases

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
21

You know, Torsten theres something in you that makes others believe you fully, that inspires & calm down :))) Ill keep finding something for you :)))

22

Hey Jailbird,
Your doing a great job and this forum is getting very
interesting - just to read.
At the moment I am busy with an important translation
so give a couple of days and I?ll be writing at full power
again. I?ll be writing a little something everyday until then.
I can?t wait to get back and answer you all.
Naufragis and I have just started an interesting theme.
It?s the continuation of Part 3 of the Topic called :

surrounding special needs,building collocations, mind maps

just check it out here … click, click

english-test.net/forum/ftopic564.html

e-inspiration to you, Bruce.

23

And once again hello my dear readers!!
I`m going to conyinue filling your minds with English phrases :))
Something nteresting for today:

  1. to cook a persons goose. I bet nobody can guess what does it mean!!! It means to spoil somebodys chance for something. Jst look: “They cooked my goose by this rumor!!!” :slight_smile:
  2. to be on cloud nine-I suppose you understand this quite well, it means to be very happy. But I know one more expression with the same meaning: to be ober the moon.
    Let`s go futher
  3. to have other fish to fry-to have some things which are more important to do. For example, Sorry, Im not going to the cinema tonight-Ive other fish to fry :)))
    I hope you understand everything, do you???
  4. to play for love-when you bet or debate, you do it for something, right?? for love means for interest :))
  5. to be in Queen Street (my favourite)-to have no money!!!
    6.to be in the pink-to be absolutely health & in a good mood.
    I wish you all were always in the pink!!! 8)
    And the last one for today :))
  6. to be as cool as the cucumber-to be calm & reserved…Something like this: "Listen, darling, youre as cool as a cucmber!" Means-your nerves are ok :)) Thats all for today, i`ll write you something else tomorrow!!!
24

Hello Bruce :)))
Thanks for calling all this stuff a good job :)) Do you find it useful for yourself??? I hope so :))

25

Hello everyone!!!
The week-ends coming and unfortunately Ill be closed during the week-end…Ill be back on Sunday in the evening, I suppose...Still, Ill be glad if you find any questions regarding the phrases or anything else you like. See you soon!!!

26

Hi Jailbird,

Have a good weekend and we expect a report from you on Sunday evening :)[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, photographs: A parachute[YSaerTTEW443543]

27

Hi Jailbird,
That?s super.
Now I just can?t resist answering with some more,
but you will have to tell me what they mean.
So here goes :

  1. Not enough room to swing a cat.
  2. Like a cat on a hot tin roof.
  3. Let sleeping dogs lie.
  4. You are barking up the wrong tree.
  5. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
  6. Kill two birds with one stone.
  7. To hear it from the horses mouth.
  8. Don?t look a gift horse in the mouth.
  9. To speak of the devil.
  10. Everything is rosey in the garden.
  11. I heard it on the grapevine.
  12. Talk until the cows come home.
  13. To have a memory like an elephant.
  14. A head like a sieve.
  15. Eyes in the back of his head.
  16. To beat about the bush.
  17. It?s time to bury the hatchet.
  18. Fill your boots.
  19. Six of one and half a dozen of the other.
  20. As the crow flies.

Jailbird, can you translate the meaning in to normal English? It should not be too hard.
I would be interested in the Russian version, also translated back into English.
I hope that is not too much. I guess the Ukraine, Kaszakstan, Japan, China, Argentina, India, Cuba,
Spain, France etc.
What do you say International readers out there can
you give me some input and translation.
I would love to here about some funny sayings in your countries out there dear readers.
Meanwhile I?ll wait for Jailbirds answer with impatience.
Or maybe Naufragis(Leipzig), FrankU(Heidelberg) and mistarix(Berlin) in Germany can give some insight into phrases I may not have heard yet.

Best Wishes, Bruce.

1 Like
28

Hello Bruce!!!
Oh, thanks for all the idioms!!! I spent some time trying to find the solution to this problem for some idioms were really unknown to me :)) Anyway, Im going to tell you about the idioms Ive found familiar to me. So…

  1. Not enough room to swing a cat. = used rarely, very cramped. I thought about the Russian variant, but I think Ill have to consult my teacher for I dont know…

  2. Like a cat on a hot tin roof. = feeling uncomfortable. Russian: to feel as if on the needles, not in your plate :))

  3. Let sleeping dogs lie. = russian: dont wake up evil while its silent

  4. You are barking up the wrong tree. = russian: to be on the wrong way…I dont know hwether we have in russian something like that. We say to fail, but the word we use cant be even translated to English.

  5. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. = russian: don`t promise a crane in the sky, but give a titmouse in the hands.

  6. Kill two birds with one stone. = russian: to kill two hares by one shot :))

  7. To hear it from the horses mouth. = firsthand, to hear from the first mouth

  8. Don`t look a gift horse in the mouth. = we have the same in russian :))

  9. To speak of the devil. = this one is a bit difficult to explain the russian variant…still, to talk of somebody & he is for sure to appear :))

  10. Everything is rosey in the garden.

  11. I heard it on the grapevine.
    Unfortunately, I don`t know about these ones :roll:

  12. Talk until the cows come home. = just to speak for a long time. Maybe we in Russian use something like a tongue without bones :))

  13. To have a memory like an elephant.

  14. A head like a sieve. = to be absent-minded

  15. Eyes in the back of his head. = the same in russian :)))

  16. To beat about the bush. = to walk around we say

  17. It?s time to bury the hatchet.

  18. Fill your boots.
    And these I don`t know either :((

  19. Six of one and half a dozen of the other. = in russian: the same shchi and faster!
    Ive found out that teres another idion wuth the same meaning, isnt there??? It's the same old broth for dinner, only made a bit thinner. Well, Im not sure…it`s seems to me it has another meaning.

  20. As the crow flies. = Directly or in a straight line

So??? Is that ok??? And a small joke for you :)))

A bad customer.

A man went into a shop and asked for a pound of apples which cost one shilling. The shopkeeper gave them to him. Then the man asked: “Can I exchange the apples for a pound of plums? The price is the same.” The shopkeeper agreed and gave him the plums. The man took them and was going to leave the shop. The shopkeeper asked him for the money.
“The money for what?” asked the man.
“The money for the plums,” said the shopkeeper.
“But I gave you the apples for the plums,” answered the man.
“Well, then the money for the apples.”
“But you still have your apples.”
After that the man walked out of the shop.

29

Hey Jailbird,
I?m very impressed. Yes, you got them all right,
and the ones you did not know are as follows :

  1. Everything is rosey in the garden.

This is an Irish idiom which means;
everything is is running slowly … or
there are no problems at home.
Everything is developing as it should be.

  1. I heard it on the grapevine.

This is an idiom used as the title to a famous song, sung by the American singer - Marvin Gaye - in the 60?s.
It means; I heard it through the neighbourhood gossip, or
a close nit group of friends of work colleagues conversations.
It was doing it?s rounds in the usual circles of chat.

  1. Talk until the cows come home.

Yes, correct Jailbird. It comes from the village & farm life, where the cows were taken out into the fields to graze early in the morning and were brought back to the milking sheds late in the evening. When neighbours chat over the fence, perhaps one neighbour would say to another, “You don?t want stop too long at Mrs. Meadows place, she will keep you talking until the cows come home”.

  1. A memory like an elephant.

Elephants never forget an incident or a person even many years later. So it means to have a good memory.
Just to note I have started to use the phrase to have a memory like a fish after seeing a nature documentary film about such things. Fish have a memory capacity of ‘one second’, which means they don?t remember anything (no storage). Have you ever wondered why a fish never gets bored in a round bowl. I think they never get depressed because they live in the ‘ever new’.

  1. To beat about the bush.

Is to avoid getting to the point or digressing too much.
People who beat about the bush are indirect.
I think George Bush with his politics have given this idiom a fresh new meaning. (What do you think, Jailbird?)

  1. It?s time to bury the hatchet.

Means to put down, and drop your old resentments, hates, misunderstandings, stereotypes and preducies which always cause a fight because they are just not valid anymore. They are out of date, dogmatic and serve no purpose. To forgive, forget and begin again.
A hatchet is an AXE or woodchopper.

  1. Fill your boots.

Is often said when you are invited to a party, dinner or banquett. It means fill yourself up. Imagine a person being hollow and you would fill him up with food and drink. You open up his head and the boots would be the first to be filled up. Eat as much as you like.

  1. Six of one and half a dozen of the other.

A Dozen = 12
A half-a-dozen = 6
When an argument is equally weighed up and it?s difficult to decide on next move or come to a conclusion.
“It?s as broad as it?s wide.” is another expression which means the same.

You did very well Jailbird. I like it, and the Russian versions are also good. I have just asked Torsten about his Russia knowledge on these. We are having some fun here.

Now a great joke for you about an elephant`s memory.

There once was a baby elephant and a baby turtle drinking from a river deep in the jungle. For no reason, the turtle reaches over and bites the elephant’s tail, really hard.

Years and years later, the same elephant, now grown up, is by the same river, having a drink with his giraffe buddy, when the same turtle that bit him on the tail all those years ago wanders up to the river.

The elephant rears back a leg and kicks the turtle as hard as he can, sending him flying way off into the jungle. “Why did you do that?” the giraffe asks. “When we both were babies, that turtle bit my tail for no reason,” the elephant replied. “Wow! You must have a good memory!” exclaimed the giraffe.

“Yep!” said the elephant. “I’ve got Turtle-Recall.”

( Total Recall - did you get it ??? - Ho Ho Ho!)

Can?t wait for your answer, Jailbird.

Best Wishes, Bruce.

30

Hi Bruce!!!
Yeah, I got the joke :))) And by the way, thanks for you reply about the idioms :))) Dyou know anything else??? Ill be glad to learn something else new :)))
Hope to hear from you very soon

31

Hello, dear members!!! I havent given up sharing something interesting with you, no...I just was a bit busy with some other things...Anyway, lets go on… Something fresh for today:

  1. to put one`s hair on ones chest-to encourage somebody to do something.
  2. as the actress said to the bishop-a small hint on some great circumstances :)))
  3. to have bets in the belfry-to behave yourself in a very odd way
  4. at the wit`s end-to be very-very fringhtened. As we say in Russian when your soul went to your heels.
  5. new wine in new bottles-the second breath
  6. greek to me-when something isnt familiar to you :))) In russian it sounds rather funny-like Chinese reading & writing 7.to let the cat out of the bag-to bare a secret 8.to hang up ones hat-to stay at somebody`s house for a rather long time!!!
    9.a man born of woman-simply a mortal man :))))
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By the way, if you have any suggestions according the things Im writing to you, just dont be silent & tell me everything!!!

33

Hello Jailbird,
My name is Ray. I am American who also lives in Leipzig. Like Torsten, I teach English, but I’m presently hanging out at the beach in South Carolina, and thought I’d “test” your knowledge, so here is a little quiz:
What does “To kick the bucket” mean and what is its origin?
What does “Three sheets to the wind” mean and what is a “sheet” in this case?
Ok, now, one more…
What does “Out in left field mean” and what sport does it refer to?
Good luck!
Ray

34

Hello Ray!
Heh, it wasnt an easy task for me for unfortunately I dont know the etymology of some expressions… Thats my weak point :((( But still... I think that the phrase "to kick the bucket" refers to the phrase "to turn up one's toes". They have the same slang meaning-to die, dont they?
Then comes “three sheets to the wind”-if im not mistaken it means to be as drunk as lord...am I right???? And the last one-out in left field-i remember in one book it had a meaning-something wrong, that doesnt refer to the topic discussed for example…or I don`t know what it can mean…

35

And again, back to the phrases and idioms… Do people read them?? or the topic is going to be closed