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From http://ww3.free-english.com/ESLNewsletters.aspx
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What are idioms?
Idioms are words, phrases, or expressions that are unusual either
grammatically, as in “Long time, no see!” or in the sense that there is a
meaning that cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements,
as in “It's raining cats and dogs!” Every language has idioms, and they are
often difficult for learners to understand and use appropriately.
Example:
Literal meaning (not an idiom):
”Before the bartender made the drink, she broke the ice with a small hammer
and dropped it into the blender.”
Idiomatic meaning (an idiom):
”Before the conference began, the speaker broke the ice with a joke.”
Thus, this expression has two different meanings:
(to) break the ice
1. to make a beginning
2. to get through the first difficulties in starting a conversation or
discussion.
A phrasal verb is another type of idiom you will frequently hear in spoken
English. A phrasal verb is a verb + preposition structure and is sometimes
referred to as a two-word or three-word verb. A phrasal verb has a special
meaning that is different from the meaning of the individual words.
Examples:
back out
-withdraw from a promise or agreement
put off
-delay, postpone
show up
-appear, come
Idioms and phrasal verbs are used extensively in spoken English. On the
TOEFL test, some of the answer choices in the Listening section may try to
trick you by giving literal meanings (exact, dictionary meaning) of the words
in an idiomatic expression.
Example:
(Woman) When do you intend to do something about the dishwasher?
(Man) Do you have to bring that up again?
(Narrator) What does the man mean?
(A) He wants the woman to carry his dishwasher upstairs.
(B) He asks the woman to bring him something.
(C) He asks the woman if she needs anything.
(D) He does not want to talk about the dishwasher.
The man used the idiom bring that up. In this context, bring up means mention
or raise the topic of the dishwasher. The woman mentions the dishwasher, and
the man infers that he does not like being reminded of this topic. Therefore,
the best answer is (D). The first and second answer choices give literal
meanings of bring up. The third choice does not fit the context; the man is
not asking the woman if she needs anything.
Why do you think the man does not like being reminded of the dishwasher?
As you have just seen, idioms are an important part of the English language,
and you may be tested on them at some point. An appreciation of such
expressions and a feeling for how and when they are used can really improve
your ability to read in English and to understand everyday conversation. But
how can you make sense of the enormous variety of idiomatic expressions that
exist in everyday speech and writing?
One approach is to take certain basic key words in the target language and
organize your notes selectively around them. For example, the English word
head is the key word in a large number of idioms. A well-known idiom
dictionary lists no fewer than 40 idioms in everyday use that contain this
word. Other productive key words to look up in a dictionary for this purpose
include colours, common animals, parts of the body, basic adjectives (eg:
long, fast), and natural phenomena (eg: wind, sun).
Another strategy is to compare idioms in the target language with idioms in
your first language. This can be both an interesting exercise and a means of
remembering idioms more effectively. To take the first example in this
article, you can also be “up to your eyes in work”. In French and Italian
one is submerged in it, in German suffocated in it, in Spanish either
inundated in it or up to one's eyes in it and in Serbian you have it over
your head. By the way, the expression “It's raining cats and dogs” is very
old-fashioned. These days people are much more likely to say it's pouring,
it's tipping it down or, most commonly, it's p*ssing down!
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