ldioms (习语) can be a problem for language learners. For example, imagine your English friend Sam tells you his math exam was "a piece of cake. "Do you imagine him at school, sitting in front of a sweet dessert with nothing but a pen to eat it with? In fact, he is saying that the exam was really easy. Here are stories of three English idioms.
If you ask a friend to hang out, you might hear, "Sorry, I can't tonight. I am feeling a little under the weather. "It may sound like rain is coming, but really, it means that your friend feels sick. This expression came from sailors, who often got seasick when bad weather tossed the ship from side to side.
lf you have a difficult roommate, you might say, " My roommate has loud parties every night, but last night was the last straw. They played music till 5AM! I am moving out. "A "last straw"' is a final problem that makes someone take action. This expression is a short form of the phrase "the straw that broke the camel's back. "The idea is that even though a single piece of straw is very light, many pieces added together will be too heavy for the camel to carry.
Have you ever asked someone if they know something, and they reply, "That rings a bell? They are not hearing music! They mean that what you are saying sounds familiar, and they think they've heard it before. This idiom comes from the fact that the bells are used to remind people of many things. Traditionally, bells would tell for an important event, like a wedding. School bells tell you that class is starting.
