Idiomatic Expressions

This list is for the Diddit family word nerds, and others who may have had a hard time with idioms.

Idioms are phrases and sentences that do not mean exactly what they say. Even if you know the meaning of every word you see or hear, you may not understand the idiom because you don't understand the culture behind it. American English is full of them...thousands in fact.

I learned English as a second language. Even though it was spoken in our home in Japan, Japanese was the language I preferred to use. When we returned to the US I quickly discovered I only knew the basics of the English language. Some of the hardest things to learn and understand were idiomatic expressions.

Here are some of the ones that puzzled me. I know you all will add more.

Try reading each of these “literally.” Picture what it must be like for someone who has learned English (who thinks that they have mastered the language) to then travel to the US for the first time only to be confronted with idioms. Which ones have you used? Which ones have you heard? Which ones would you add?