Apparently I don’t.
I only got 3 out of 10 on this Guardian Quiz…
Quiz: Know Your Idioms?
Article: The Idiotic Joys of Idioms
know your idioms?
19 Monday Oct 2009
Posted in books & writing, language, quizzes
19 Monday Oct 2009
Posted in books & writing, language, quizzes
Apparently I don’t.
I only got 3 out of 10 on this Guardian Quiz…
Article: The Idiotic Joys of Idioms
casa azahar 
Great post.
I only got three as well, but at least I got all the German ones right!
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I blew it at 2, but I recognized some of the French ones. I have no idea why I bothered to learn very much about the French language but there it is.
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oops for me — only got 2 out of 10. Not having a very idiomatic day, I guess — but although I couldn’t cut the mustard, I did put up 6 jars of it. 😉
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I got one…
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I got four, but I hardly even recognised the German ones, let alone those from other countries.
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I’m with mudhooks – only one for me
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Well, now I don’t feel like such a dunce since we’re all in the same ballpark. 🙂
I didn’t recognise any of the Spanish ones, so I’ve got to wonder just how common these idioms are if I have never heard any of them used in over 17 years here.
Hey Cat! Nice to see you here!
B’Elana … long time no see!
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Of course, they may be ones used in other parts of Spain.
There are tons of sayings that are “Quebec idioms” that you might not hear outside of the Gaspe. Let’s not even touch on Newfie ones.
One that many people outside of Ontario might not have heard is “Bite the biscuit” or “take the biscuit” for dying. It was originally a reference to Catholics and taking the Host.
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Hi az. 🙂
I’m still lousy at reading blogs (and not much better with FB status updates), but I’m trying. 😉
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I got 5.
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1 as well
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I got a whole… wait for it… 0!
Why don’t people just say what they mean instead of going all around the houses?
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Yeah, you mean like how you Brits are really well known for never beating around the bush… ?
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A friend whose fist language was French used to always saw “Run that through me, again?” When she didn’t understand something right away.
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Or first language, as the case may be…
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Not quite the same but related…
I remember reading an article in the New York Times by William Safire about “New York-isms”. He completely missed the one I heard every day in New York and have NEVER heard elsewhere which was “waiting on line”, meaning being in a line-up.
And yet, he included “waiting on a light” which I have heard all over and it is a common saying, here.
You’d have thought William Safire would have gotten THOSE right.
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I only got three as well. There are Ozarkisms that I have never heard anywhere else: My favorite is “Dumber than a box of rocks”, followed quickly by “He was all bulled up” (meaning he was madder than hell and dangerous), and “Tighter than tree bark (miserly).
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I got the first one right and that’s it. I suppose thinking about *French Dressing* pulled that one out of the fire. As I sit here sipping my Timmys, I don’t want to lock the stable door after the horse has bolted but it appears I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer. A miss is as good as a mile as they say and no use crying over spilt milk- between the devil and the deep blue sea or a rock and a hard place, I must admit it’s a dog’s life. He who pays the piper calls the tune and beggars can’t be choosers but where there’s a will there’s a way, I always say.
Save your money for a rainy day!
Cheers!
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Rolls eyes…
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🙄
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Apropos something else,
I got a comment on this photo I posted some time ago.
Gotta love it when someone who is posting from a University, in this case the University of Maine, can’t spell or use proper grammar. And doesn’t think this cat is “cute”.
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I’m an idiot when it comes to idioms.
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I got four out of ten; mainly guesswork.
TRiG.
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