Yolanda's blog

Do you know the meaning of these idioms? Try to guess what they mean and watch the video to check if you were right. -Not my cup of tea -A piece of cake -Go pear-shaped -For/In donkey's years -Across the pond/Down under -Cheap as chips -Pardon my French -Do a runner -Itchy feet -Can't do something to save your life

Idiomic? Never heard that word before…. Don’t look ‘idiomic’ up in the dictionary. It won’t be   there. Iddy just made it up. It’s part idiom, part comic, and besides, idiomatic.com was already spoken for. Idiomic hopes to explore the world of idioms with a bit of humour, a bi http://idiomic.com/idiomic/ t of colour, and a bit of useless information. In each post, our host, Iddy, will try his best to understand each idiom, illustrated in lavish technicolor. Below his attempts we will explore the phrase with a  definition , an  example , and finally, an attempt to find its  origin . Iddy’s not a linguist, so he’s approaching this on a purely amateur level. He invites you to correct any errors he’s made or theories you may have heard. He’s also happy to take suggestions of idioms to explore, so please, drop him a line. After all, it’s lonely being a big green ball. How to use our site There are four possible routes for you to explore…. O...

Why do we have a lesson on a writer who died hundreds of years ago? Don't worry. There's method to my madness! The poet and playwright William Shakespeare has had a big influence on the English language. Many of he words and expressions that he invented are still in use today, and we often don't realize it. In this lesson, you will learn about some of the most common expressions which first appeared in print hundreds of years ago and are still used today. So come on. Break the ice, and watch the lesson!

Part of the fun of learning a language is getting to know its idioms and expressions, but there are many whose meaning is far from clear and whose origins are obscure. Today we look at 10 unusual expressions in English and where they come from. 1. to kick the bucket A euphemism for ‘to die’. One theory suggests it comes from the days when prisoners were executed by hanging. An upturned bucket, or some other kind of pedestal, would be placed under their feet as they were strung up to the gallows and then kicked away to make them drop. More likely, however, it comes from an old secondary meaning of ‘bucket’, which was the beam used to hang animals up for slaughter in a farm. The dying animals would spasm as they struggled, hence ‘kicking the bucket’. A: I’d love to travel around the world one day. B: So would I. There’s loads of places I want to see before I kick the bucket. 2. Break a leg! It might surprise you, but this expression is used to wish someone good luck. It c...