Comments on: An idiom abroad. Sleeping like a baby, a log, or a top and trying to use as many English idioms as possible. With help from Peter Sellers, Roachford, Sir Lawrence Olivier and Alan Partridge!

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 06:36:30 +0000

Brilliant!!!!

By: Alice

Alice — Tue, 01 Jul 2014 21:08:51 +0000

Hi Michael, I didn’t realise how some of my everyday language gets picked up by my reception children! I told a child that they were ‘on a roll!’ He replied ‘do you mean a sausage roll?’ That put a smile on my face!

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Tue, 20 May 2014 11:30:21 +0000

Thanks Elly!
Which words do the youngsters that you teach use? Social media is their world now, I guess.
We were discussing who might be classed as an ‘extrovert’ and a good definition is ‘ a person who gets their energy from other people.’ One of the delegates wondered if you could apply this to someone who does a lot of social networking via the Internet. It’s an interesting thought!
Michael

By: Elly Foster

Elly Foster — Tue, 20 May 2014 09:12:34 +0000

Hi Michael, you really made me laugh. I hadn’t heard the one about the carrot (the Dutch one) but here is a really silly one from the Netherlands. In Dutch it is: Ik heb er een broertje aan dood. Translated into English: I have a little brother dead to it. Meaning: I really hate doing this. My mother knew loads of idioms. My Welsh dictionary has a whole section devoted to Welsh idioms. I think they’re great. On the subject of sarcasm, I have noticed that my pupils use this word, and the word ironic, to a far greater extent in the last couple of years. Is this thanks to social media? Elly

By: Michael Jones

Michael Jones — Mon, 19 May 2014 09:08:08 +0000

Hello Felicity!
Could those be the most obscure, yet truly fascinating set of idioms in English?!
All languages have idioms, and we should use them. That’s an interesting point you make about children’s understanding of sarcasm and idioms. I guess it’s something to do with the growing awareness that words can have many meanings. Sarcasm is often portrayed by tone of voice and facial expression, ( i.e. a purposeful mismatch between the two.) so children must need quite a complex grasp of communication to understand that you can say one thing, but mean the other.
Many thanks for your comment
Best wishes
Michael

By: Felicity Wright

Felicity Wright — Mon, 19 May 2014 08:19:28 +0000

My mother’s favourite for dirty children was “Black as the devil’s nutting bag” – understood I think by mining communities and when astounded would always say “I’ll go to the foot of our stairs!” and when things could not be found they were “up in Annie’s room behind the clock”
I think that it is really intersting that children’s understanding of idioms develops almost alongside their understanding of sarcasm – adults really make English complicated, but what a poorer, less rich language we would have without those complications!