How did 10 most popular English idioms

Many consider idioms to be the highlight of any language, because they are unique, peculiar, although sometimes they can be confusing. Idioms are stable turns of speech, the meaning of which is not in the individual words of which they are composed, but in the history of the origin of these expressions. In the article Eng Blog There are several examples of idioms that are often used, but their sources are not known to everyone. So let's get started!

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1. Bless you! - Be healthy! What do you say to the person who sneezed? That's right - "Be healthy!". In Russian, the meaning of this phrase is not at all ambiguous, it is simple and clear. But english Bless you! (I bless you!), Pronounced in a similar situation, can be puzzling if you try to understand it literally. Why Bless you?! According to one version, this expression could have originated in the first century AD. Then people believed that during a sneeze, the human soul is able to leave the body, and an evil spirit or even the devil can take its place. Thus the blessing Bless you! served as a kind of talisman from such misfortune. Moreover, earlier many believed that during sneezing a person’s heart stopped beating, and Bless you! may call for help the forces of good and induce him to fight again.
   

   - Ahchoo! - Aphchi!
   - Bless you! - Be healthy!
   - Thanks. This sneezing is going to drive me mad! - Thank. This sneezing will drive me crazy!

2. To be / To feel under the weather - to feel yourself bad. Another health-related idiom is to be / to feel under the weather. This expression came from the navigators' lexicon. The fact is that earlier, when a sailor felt unwell due to weather conditions or seasickness, he was sent to the lower part of the vessel, away from the weather, or rather, “under the weather”, until complete recovery.
   

   - You are so pale today ... - You're so pale today ...
   - I feel a bit under the weather. - I myself not very feel good.

3. A hot potato - an unpleasant question; something you want to get rid of as soon as possible. This is a relatively new expression in the English language. Its appearance is associated with the popularity of potatoes as a product in general and baked potatoes in particular. Imagine having to hold hot potatoes fresh out of the oven or coals. It's uncomfortable and sometimes even painful. Hence the analogy: an unpleasant question or situation that you want to solve as soon as possible is like a hot potato that you want to immediately let go of.
   

   This tax issue is a hot potato to me. - This tax question very unpleasant for me.

4. To burn the midnight oil - work at night, stay up late at work. What do you do when you work late at night? The English think you are "burning the midnight oil" (to burn the midnight oil). The meaning of this idiom is “work at night”, “stay up late at work”. Its creator is the English poet Francis Quarles (Francis quarles). In his work Emblemes (1635 r.) He uses this expression to describe work by candlelight, that is, in the dark. And although the times when candles or oil were used for lighting are long gone, the expression to burn the midnight oil still in daily use.
   

   I've got an exam to burn the midnight oil until then. - I have an exam at the end of the week, so until then I have to study late.

5. To hit the nail on the head - get to the point. One of the oldest idioms of the English language. Its exact origin has not been established, but it is known that it is mentioned in the "Book of Margery Kemp" (The book of margery kempe). This is the oldest autobiography written in English that has survived to this day. It contains the phrase: I’m so so smite the nail on the head supporters. Many interpreted this expression as “show sharpness” or “speak strictly.” However, today the meaning of this phraseological unit can be correlated with the Russian "not in the eyebrow, but in the eye."
   

   - Do you know what your problem is? - Do you know what your problem is?
   - No, what is it? - No, what?
   - You dissipate your energies on too many things. You need to get your priority right. - You sprayed on a lot. You need to find the priority.
   - I think, you've hit the nail on the head. - I think you got to the point.

6. To be on the ball - to be quick, sensible. This idiom comes from the idiom to keep one's eye on the ball (keep your finger on the pulse). You can guess that this expression came from sports. Indeed, the phrase is mentioned in early records of cricket, golf, croquet and baseball. Many attribute this idiom to baseball, and this is partly true. The fact is that baseball players need to constantly monitor the ball (keep abreast; be focused and attentive), otherwise they risk losing. Today, both idioms are used quite widely: to keep one's eye on the ball - be focused on the problem and to be on the ball - be agile, able to solve the problem.
   

   You need to keep your eye on the ball working with this man. - You need keep one's finger on the pulse working with this person.

   This boy is on the ball - he's always ready to act. - This guy is agile - he is always ready to act.

7. Once in a blue moon - very rarely, for once. To understand why this is so, let's see what is blue moon (blue Moon). Blue moon is an astronomical phenomenon. This is the name of the full moon, which happened the second time in one calendar month. The lunar month lasts 29,5 Earth days, so the probability that there will be two full moons in one calendar month is very low. This phenomenon occurs on average once every 2,7 years.
   

   - Do you keep in touch with Mary? - Do you often see Mary?
   - Not at all. We meet once in a blue moon. - Not at all. We are dating rarely.

8. To sit / To be on the fence - be indecisive, take a waiting position. An idiom originating in Middle English (XI – XVb.). At the time the word fens meant the same as today defense (Ame - defense) - “protection”, “defense”. But today the word fence - “fence”, and “sit on the fence” means the same as the Russian “sit on two chairs”: try to sit in two places at the same time.
   

   Has he decided whether he will take the job? Did he decide to accept this job?
   - No, he's still on the fence. - No, he is still hesitates.

9. To hear it through/by the grapevine - find out something rumored. An idiom that emerged from the invention of the telegraph and the collectors of the harvest. Here is its story: the first public demonstration of the work of the telegraph was held in 1844 by Samuel Morse, and the device received universal approval as an effective way of transmitting information. However, it soon became clear that even the most seemingly fresh news transmitted by telegraph, were already known to some communities, most often to collectors of the harvest. Thus, banal rumors were sometimes more effective than the revolutionary device. Soon even the term appeared grapevine telegraph (instant rumor), mentioning a vine (grapevine) as a link between news distributors and grape pickers. This is how the idiom appeared to hear it through/by the grapevine - literally "to hear about something on the vine," that is, from an unofficial source.
   

   - How did you know that Martin had been arrested? “How did you know that Martin was arrested?”
   - I heard it through the grapevine. - Rumors go.

10. To keep/hold somebody/something at bay - keep something unpleasant at a distance. The origin of this idiom is associated primarily with the meaning of the word Air (dog barking). But by the end of the century, thanks to hunting and the use of dogs, the expression appeared on it at bay (in a desperate, hopeless situation; like a hunted animal). At the end of the hunt, the driven animal desperately resists for some time: it is, as it were, "at a distance of a dog's barking", that is, close to serious troubles. Concerning to keep/hold somebody/something at bay, then this phraseological unit appeared by the end of the XNUMXth century. It means a person's attempt to keep an unpleasant situation or an enemy at a distance, moreover, with all his might.
    

    Sandra was biting her lip to keep her tears at bay. - Sandra bit her lips, so as not to cry.

Your vocabulary has replenished 10 with excellent expressions in English. Learn them and decorate your speech with them.

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