What’s an idiom ? An idiom is a phrase or expression that has a meaning that in most cases cannot be deduced directly from the individual words in that phrase or expression. For example, the idiom ‘ bite off more than you can chew ’ doesn’t mean you bite more than a mouthful of a cake or something else and then struggle to chew. It means you try to do something that is too difficult for you. How are they different from proverbs ? Proverbs are well-known sayings, stating a general truth or advice. For example, the proverb ‘ a picture is worth a thousand words is a general truth. The idiom ‘bite off more than you can chew’, however, is neither a general truth nor advice. Before you get into the idioms, I would give you a tip if you want to use them (versus just knowing the meaning). It’s relatively easier to remember words than to remember idioms because idioms typically contain 3-4 or more words. Remembering a string of words in the correct sequence and recalling them in a flash while...
David White is an Australian English teacher who has been living in Peru since 2001. In partnership with his wife Claudia, they are the owners of ¨English For You Language Institute´, an institute that specializes in the teaching of all levels of English from Basic (A1) to Advanced (C2) including international exam preparation. They are also the owners of ELT Educational Services and David is also the Headmaster of the American School, a respected bilingual ib school in Northern Peru.