JetLiposting

Well, the first bird idiom that popped into my head after reading the title was "flip the bird", sorry :wacky:. There are other bird idioms that I use every now and then like: "eat like a bird" which basically means that someone is eating small amounts of food, or "a little bird told me" ( I won't explain this because, well, everybody knows it's meaning ).

I don't remember the first idiom that I've learned but there are a few that I've been using for quite some time. I tend to say "pardon my French" after I use a swear word or if I've just said something nasty. I also like to say "break a leg", especially if the person hearing this gets annoyed :grin:.

A lot of words get misused to the point where their original meaning is almost forgotten. Here are a few examples: The most well known example is "gay" which actually meant that someone is being "happy" or "carefree" but try to use this word in it's original meaning these days and see what happens :devil:. Another word that people tend to misuse is "bemused". People usually think it means "amused", but it actually means "confused". Here's another example, and this one is being misused almost every time: to "decimate". People tend to use it as a synonym for "obliterate" or "devastate" but in reality, this word comes from the Latin "decimatio" which was a form of military punishment in the Roman Army where one in ten men was killed. So when you say that something was decimated it actually implies that only 10 percent of it has been destroyed. What wrongly used words have you come across?

If you translate French in English word for word ( or mot a mot ) it doesn't really makes any sense, you're right "Qu'est-ce que c'est" translates to "what is it that it is" but, in Romanian ( which is more similar to French ) it translates to "what it is, it is", or as people sometimes say: "It is what it is", and it means that you just have to accept the reality ( it is also used when something bad has just happened and you can't do anything to change the situation :wacky: ). Hope it helps .

Well, I'm not in school anymore, and although, these days, I'm not studying these languages on a regular basis, I'm still trying to improve my English/French skills whenever I get the chance.

Good topic, I love quotes, so without further ado, here's the first: Said by Lenny Bruce, it basically means that we should stop setting unrealistic goals and stop trying to live our lives according to them. By Martin Luther King, Jr. A really beautiful and inspirational explanation to the word 'fate'. It means that you should proceed with your quest even if the end is uncertain. Said by Buddha. It's a very inspirational and positive quote and I love it.

Well, before an exam I usually feel tired , because I'm not a morning person and most exams are held in the morning. I don't get nervous before exams because, let's face it, even if I haven't studied I can always cheat :devil:.

Well, the most romantic language in my opinion is french, I mean, you can say the nastiest things to a girl and not only would she not get annoyed, but she'd like it. ( if she doesn't speak french, of course ). Now, if that's not romantic, I don't know what is :devil:.

For me, the funniest English word must be "muffin". I always smile when I hear it, probably because it reminds me of a stand-up comedy gig performed by John Bishop :wacky:.

Hello 'linguaholics' ! My real name is Claudiu, I'm a programmer and a 2D/3D graphic artist from Romania and I'm currently studying English and French. I'm fairly good at both but hopefully, with your help, I can get even better . Cheers!