Today, our topic is an interesting one that talks about idioms and their meanings in English. An idiom is a mutual phrase which means something that is altered from its exact meaning but can be understood because of its general use.
Thus, idioms can mean something different from what the words mean, therefore, it is difficult for someone not good at speaking the language to use them correctly. Some idioms are only used by some groups of people at certain times.
Clearly, idioms are not similar to slang. Idioms consist of normal words that own a special meaning known to almost everyone. Slang is usually special word, or special meaning of normal words that are known only to a certain group of people.
To learn a language, a person needs to learn the words in that language, and how and when to use them. Besides, learning idioms independently is also of great importance because certain words together or at certain times can have different meanings. To understand an idiom, one sometimes needs to know the culture from which the idiom comes.
Accordingly, an idiom is a phrase whose meaning cannot be understood from the dictionary definitions of each word taken separately. The linguist's term for the real meaning of an idiom is the subtext. Let’s have some examples of the most common idioms that are used. When we say “Break a leg” it means (A way to wish someone good luck). Also when we say “Shape up or ship out” we mean (leave if they don't improve your behavior or performance).
Many other idioms can be used as the English language is rich with words that can be ordered to give a great idiom. If you are interested with this topic, tell us in the comments to dive deep into this subject :)
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