IDIOMSBY

EDUARDO CLEVES

MONICA GONZAEZ

DEFINITION…

ENGLISH.

ESPAÑOL.

An IDIOM is a phrase where the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words. They express special meanings through combinations of old words instead of neologisms.Like proverbs, metaphorical idioms evolve from the collective cultural experiences of a people, some of which are shared with other cultures.

Un modismo es un hábito, una costumbre lingüística, que, como todo hábito, tiene la función de ahorrar energía. Como el hombre es un ser de hábitos, entonces resulta que los modismos están presentes en todas las lenguas y en el habla de todas las personas.

MODISMO VS. REFRAN

El refrán tiene un sentido pedagógico. Tiende a educar. Por ejemplo: A quien madruga Dios le ayuda. Este refrán nos dice que deberíamos ser madrugadores, diligentes, activos para alcanzar algunos beneficios. Zapatero, a tus zapatos. Este nos dice que las personas deben hacer aquello para lo que están preparadas.

El refrán suele tener rima. Esto se debe a que la rima refuerza el aprendizaje, la memorización y el recuerdo. Por ejemplo: Juego de manos, juego de villanos. Un modismo, en cambio, no educa, no tiene esa intención. Describe una situación, un rasgo de personalidad y nada más. Por ejemplo: Ser un puerco o comer más que un remordimiento.

EXAMPLES

ESPAÑOL ENGLISH

METER LA PATA BLOW IT

TOMAR EL PELO PULL ONE´S LEG

EN MENOS DE LO QUE CANTA UN GALLO

IN THE SHAKE OF A LAMB´S TAIL

ME IMPORTA UN BLEDO I DON´T GIVE A DAMN

COMO QUITARLE UN PELO A UN GATO

LIKE A DROP IN THE BUCKET

DAR EN EL CLAVO HITTING THE NAIL ON THE HEAD

LA CARNE THE BURRO NO ES TRANSPARENTE

I CAN´T SEE THROUGH YOU

METER LAS MANOS AL FUEGO TO STICK YOUR NECK OUT

Some expressions are treated as idioms merely because their construction is fixed.

In Lo mató a sangre fría there is no particular semantic o sintactic reason for the use of a; it does not have its literal meaning(s), is not requiered by the transitivity of matar or the nature of sangre, and does not reflect the speaker’s choice of this Preposition over de, con, hacia, or another preposition with a distant message.

A sangre fría is a set expression and a is an integral part of it, just like the in of the corresponding English in cold blood

Other expressions seem idiomatic not because their meaning or construction

is totally arbitrary but because their usual sense is more specific than grammar

alone might predict.

For example, in both languages the combining of “give” with “hand” in a sentence

opens up a wide range of potential meanings, including the literal one.

English has specifically narrowed down give a hand to assistance or applause,

Whereas Spanish has settled on two different meanings depending on the context:

LET´S :

Dale una mano que lo necesita

Dale una mano a ver cómo queda

The two meanings would be help and manual application of paint. The narrowed senses are both logical in their own way and might be inferred from context, but they are not predictable from Dar + Mano, nor do they match.

A: HOW WAS THE DRIVING TEST YESTERDAY? DID YOU PASS?B: OF COURSE! IT WAS A PIECE OF CAKE.

Meaning:To be very easy, if something is a piece of cake, it is very easy to do.

What's the girl's name there?Wait a second, it's on the tip of my tongue. ... Yes! Her name is Joanne.

Meaning:

Cannot remember something such as a word or the name of a person although you think you know it and you will remember it soon.

If you say something is on the tip of your tongue, you mean you can almost remember it but not right away.

( They were talking about someone and he just came in the room.)Speak of the devil! We were just talking about you! How did you know that?

Meaning:

You say "Speak of the devil" when someone you have been talking about comes in the room unexpectedly.

A: Do you think she'll ever come back and work with us again?B: When pigs fly she will. (She will never come back again.)

Meaning:

Never.

If you say when pigs fly, you mean something will never happen.People sometimes say, "And pigs might fly" to mean something a person just said will never happen or is impossible.

They didn't cancel the game even though it was raining cats and dogs.

It will rain cats and dogs tomorrow, but he will go to work as usual.

Meaning:

To rain very heavily, if you say "It's raining cats and dogs," you mean it is raining very heavily.

I heard 4 government officials were arrested for bribery yesterday.It's just the tip of the iceberg. Many more are doing the same thing.

Meaning:

Something that shows or suggests a much larger problem.

If you say "It is just the tip of the iceberg," you mean that what you see is just a small part of something that is actually much bigger than it seems.

LET´S PLAY!!!

1. “Eso es harina de otro costal” equivale en inglés a:

A. That's flour from another sack.

B. That’s a different story.

C. Like carrying coals to Newcastle.

D. To go off with a bang and out like a light.

2. In the sentence “the noise of a fly when I try to sleep drives me up the wall, the underlined idiom is equivalent to the spanish:

A. Me da contra la pared.

B. Me hace ver estrellas.

C. Me saca de quicio.

D. Me pone nervioso.

3. “Le patina el coco” y “se le safó un tornillo” son modismos del español que en inglés equivalen a:

A. His coconut (head) slips.

B. His mind is skating.

C. He has his head on wheels.

D. He has a screw loose.

4. My sister flies off the handle easily, means:

A. Mi hermana se sale de los chiros fácilmente.

B. Mi hermana se nos vuela con frecuencia.

C. Mi hermana es una mosca muerta.

D. A Mi hermana se le corre el shampú.

5. “I’m in John’s bad books for scratching his new car” means:

A. John me lleva en el libro malo por haberle rayado el carro.

B. Estoy en la lista negra de John por haberle rayado el carro.

C. Le saqué la piedra a John por haberle rayado el carro.

D. John me echó la madre por haberle rayado el carro.

6. “Vivito y coleando” tiene su equivalencia en el inglés como:

A. Alive and wagging tail.

B. Alive and tailing.

C. Alive and kicking.

D. Living and kicking.

7. “Llorar sobre la leche derramada” es lo mismo en inglés a:

A. To have more wool than a lamb.

B. To want more than you can have.

C. To cry over spilt milk.

D. To spilt the milk and cry on it.

8. “Between the devil and the deep blue sea” se traduce al español como:

A. Entre el mar y el infierno.

B. Entre el cielo y la tierra.

C. Entre la espada y la pared.

D. Entre el amor y el odio.

9. “Matar dos pájaros de un tiro” es lo mismo en inglés que:

A. To kill two birds with one shoot.

B. To kill two birds with one stone.

C. To shoot two birds with one shot.

D. To shoot and kill a bird.

10. “Julia has a crush on Peter” means:

A. Peter le cae gordo a Julia.

B. Peter vuelve loco a Julia.

C. Julia no se aguanta a Peter.

D. Julia está tragada de Peter.

RIGHT!!!!

WRONG!!!!

ENGLISH SPANISH LITERAL T.

That’s a different story Eso es harina de otro costal That's flour from another sack.

Drives me up the wall Me saca de quicio Me conduce hasta la pared

I’m in Jef’s bad books Estoy en la lista negra de Jef

Estoy en el libro malo de Jef

Alive and kicking Vivito y coleando Living and kicking

To cry over spilt milk Llorar sobre leche derramada

To cry over the spilt milk

I can’t see through you La carne de burro no es transparente

No puedo ver a través de ti

Between the devil and the deep blue sea

Entre la espada y la pared

Entre el diablo y el profundo azul del mar

He has a screw loose Se le safó un tornillo His coconut (head) slips.