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BEST OF BRITAIN


“Idioms are a way of expressing yourself in language which help you sound more natural.”


‘Mad as a hatter,’ hat makers of the19th century really did go mad


she helped him clear it away and told him not to worry about it, and he realised he very much liked her and in fact she was “the best thing since sliced bread”, i.e. absolutely fantastic! Hope you have enjoyed this short exploration of idioms and expressions and discovering their meanings and origins. I am sure you have a few favourite idioms of your own and perhaps one or two which you have always wanted to know more about. Feel free to get in touch to share them with me!


“Money is another rich area for idioms and many of them have intriguing origins.”


So, if my friend Harry went to a party where he didn’t really know anybody and he finds it hard to socialise then he might have “felt like a lemon”. He didn’t “feel full of beans”, meaning full of energy, and found that the music they were playing “wasn’t his cup of tea”, i.e. he didn’t like the music. Just when he thought things were really starting “to go pear-shaped”, that is starting to go wrong, he somehow managed to bump into a table and break a very expensive ornament. He suddenly was “in a pickle”, meaning in a difficult situation and fully expected the host, Sarah “to go bananas”, lose her temper. However, Sarah was lovely about it and


Victoria Rennoldson, founder of Perfect Cuppa English, regularly gives talks and writes about British language, life and culture. Perfect Cuppa English offers private English language and British culture courses, in everyday and business English, for greater speaking confidence. Victoria@perfectcuppaenglish.co.uk | www.perfectcuppaenglish.co.uk


16 FOCUS The Magazine March/April 2019 www.focus-info.org


© Victoria Rennoldson


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