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If You Could Only Pick One, What Would Be Your Favorite Idiom?


Akiyama

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Hi guys,

Just interested in seeing which Idioms you guys enjoy most. Or which ones hold the most meaning/value to you.

So, if you had to choose only one that stands among the others, what would it be?

Thanks!

Akiyama

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Hi there,

Well coming from England and having to suffer the English weather, I'd say my most used idiom is "It's raining cats and dogs" but that wouldn't be my favourite.

Idioms of naval origin are my favourite. Maybe " There's not enough room to swing a cat" if I'm on a crowded bus or somewhere like that. Not connected with the cats as animals this one, it refers to the cat-of-nine-tails which was used to punish sailors in the Royal Navy for misdemeanours.

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Hey Champollion

That's an interesting idiom. I have never heard about it before. Thank you for explaining its roots and giving its definition. I will try to use that one next time I'm on a bus, which is packed with people.

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My favorite is this: (something) has nothing on this (or that). My friends used to tell me, "You got nothing on me when it comes to food." Another one of my favorites is "go with the flow." I use that a lot when I am speaking with my friends.

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Hi guys,

Just interested in seeing which Idioms you guys enjoy most. Or which ones hold the most meaning/value to you.

So, if you had to choose only one that stands among the others, what would it be?

Thanks!

Akiyama

If I had to choose one idioms that stands among the others I would choose "People who lives in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" which translate, unless you are free from fault, you have no right to judge or criticized others. Or more appropriately you have no right criticize or judge others for having the same fault as yourself.     

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  • 2 weeks later...

Mine would have to be, "hit the hay." I probably say that at least three times a week when I'm ready to go to bed. It's pretty much my way of saying goodnight to everyone.

"Well folks, it's about time I hit the hay."

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One of my all time favorites would have to be "Don't count your eggs till they hatch." It's been quite a learning experience to really live with this idiom and so far, I have really learned. I think I've learned it this time.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My choice is influence more by emotion [and bad, past experiences] rather than just a love for the sound of the idiom itself.

My favorite idiom is: green-eyed monster.

The reason:

One of the women I loved of most had green eyes. When she betrayed me, I found that each time I thought of her it made me feel real bitter. And in conversation I literally found myself referring to her as the green-eyed monster. Just picture something, shapeless, slimy, with green refulgent eyes. . .it helped me ascend from the abyss I'd fallen into.

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Mine would probably be "piece of cake". I've always been amused by food idioms for some reason, and this is one that I often heard growing up and I also use it too. I heard this figure of speech most when speaking about tests and homework at school. I wasn't getting very good grades and my dad would always tell me to try and look at it as being easy and he always used idioms, specifically this one. I don't really say it much anymore nowadays since I don't take tests anymore, but it's the one that stands out most in my memory.

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  • 2 weeks later...

As a person coming from the U.S.A. I would say my favorite idiom would be "Catch 22." If you have not heard it before; it means a situation where no matter what you do, it is a bad outcome. To give an example would be if you don't have a place to stay, you can't get a job and with no job, you can't get an apartment. I have been in a catch 22 many times so I can relate to it.  :smile:

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I've never heard of "catch 22" before.  Is this the term taken from Joseph Heller's novel?

Well anyway, I don't have a favorite idiom but I would be interested in knowing the opposite idiom for catch 22 (if there's any), I think that would become my favorite.  :grin:

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  • 2 weeks later...

As a theater major, I'd have to say "break a leg" is my favorite. I must hear it a dozen times per show.

I was about eight or seven years old when my English teacher said "break a leg" before my first class drama - messed with my mind for several days before my mother explained the meaning to me  :grin:

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This one I have had to use on several occasions because I see so many people throwing away opportunities. Often times when I encourage someone that I see as having great potential and opportunity but does nothing with it I'll say to them, "the ball is in your court" It gives them something to think about and helps them to make better decisions.

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  • 4 weeks later...

When I am nervous I often say I am "on tenterhooks" or that I am "walking on eggshells". The former idiom is problematic for me because I do not know where I learned it or where it comes from or even what it exactly means, I just always use it. The latter seems to make sense but when I try I to explain why walking on eggshells makes me nervous, I cannot really explain it. So if anyone has any thoughts on this, please share.

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  • 1 month later...

Over the years, I've learned lots of idioms that even now if I am hearing an idiom for the first time I can easily relate to it. I believe I learned my first set of idioms in primary school and later learned others from movies, books and during discussion with people.

I don't think I've a favorite but I do have one I use very often but I can't seem to remember right now.

However, listed below are few I started with:

*Let bygones be bygones - Forgive and forget.

*To kick the bucket - To die.

*The ball is in your court - The decision is yours to make.

*A stitch in time saves nine - The earlier you deal with a problem the better.

*It rained cat and dog - It rained heavily.

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  • 5 months later...

There is one in my native language that I can translate into English because I like it a lot. That someone who leaves home cannot leave a banana baking under the hot ashes. This means that when one goes away from home, they can be delayed getting back or not come home at all. Therefore one has no guarantee that the banana baking under the ashes in the fireplace will not be consumed.

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  • 1 year later...

"Be a catch" - be someone who is worth marrying or partnering up with. Sadly, I've had to say this to friends more times than I care to admit (their boyfriends really did a number on them). :( 

"Don't count your chickens before they're hatched" - this is the first idiom I learned so it's still a favorite even though I rarely use it in regular conversation.

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