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Idiom Series #24: Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk
In 1659, a writer named James Howell published a collection of English proverbs. Among them was a short line: “No weeping for shed milk.”
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Idiom Series #23: Cut Someone Some Slack
It’s an easy sentence to say, and a very common one for learners, often right before handing in late homework. The idea is right. The situation is right. Only one tiny…
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Idiom Series #22: Cut Corners
Sam hired a painter to redo his kitchen. The job was finished in one day, and the price was low. Three weeks later, the paint started to peel off the walls.…
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Idiom Series #21: Cost an Arm and a Leg
You may have heard this story. Long ago, portrait painters charged by the body part. A face cost a little. Add the arms and the price went up. Paint the legs…
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Idiom Series #20: Cold Feet
Today, cold feet makes most English speakers think of weddings: a nervous bride or groom wondering whether to walk down the aisle. But some of the earliest examples researchers have found…
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Idiom Series #19: Call It a Day
1. “What should we call it, a day trip or a holiday?” 2. “It’s six o’clock. Let’s call it a day.”
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Idiom Series #18: By the Skin of Your Teeth
Here’s a fair question for any English learner to ask: teeth don’t have skin, so what does by the skin of your teeth mean?
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Idiom Series #17: Bury the Hatchet
Maya and her brother Leo haven’t spoken in two years. It started with an argument about money, and neither of them remembers the details anymore. Then, at their grandmother’s birthday dinner,…
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Idiom Series #16: Burn the Midnight Oil
In 1635, an English poet named Francis Quarles published a book of poems called Emblemes. In it are two lines about hard work:
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Idiom Series #15: Break the Ice
Think about the first minute of a new class, a job interview or a party where you know nobody. Everyone is polite, quiet and a little stiff. Someone has to say…