I had the increasingly rare pleasure of learning a new expression today: neck-verse. Continue reading
Neck-Verse
idioms
I’m Inclined to Agree
I’m sure that’s something you often say while reading these posts. It’s also, if you think about it, more metaphorical than might be obvious. Think about it for a moment. How else do we use the word inclined?
Hump Day
Look, I know this is being published on a Thursday, but in my defence I’m writing this on a Wednesday and the idea came to me this afternoon.
An Albatross Round your Neck
“God save thee, ancient Mariner!
From the fiends, that plague thee thus!-
Why looks’t thou so?”-With my cross-bow
I shot the ALBATROSS.
This is one of the more unusual English idioms. It means a very heavy, psychological burden.
But why an albatross?
A Dark Horse
He’s a dark horse, isn’t he?
How would you describe the expression a dark horse to somebody who’d never heard it before? After thinking for a moment, you might say it’s a person of hidden depths or secret talents/opinions, someone who achieves something when no-one expected that they might. You might give an example of a quiet student in a language class who suddenly speaks confidently and fluently in an oral exam.
A Square Deal
Squares probably aren’t as interesting as circles, but they still seem to occupy our minds more than most other shapes. You can see that in the way we have so many expressions in English with the word square.
Riding the Gravy Train
Did you ever wonder where this odd expression comes from? Why would gravy be associated with having an easy time of it? And where does the train fit into it?
