Dear reader, although the title doesn’t promise much, you might find this unit very interesting. Therefore, to use an idiomatic expression, wait, be patient before you give up reading!
An idiom is an expression whose meaning cannot be guessed from the literal definition or the meaning of its individual words, but has a figurative meaning that is known only through common use. This is sometimes difficult to understand. If someone says, for instance, that there is too much red tape, how are we to know that it means there is too much bureaucracy? To many, they are just nonsense; not easily understood. There are thousands of idioms in English. Sometimes the same or similar idioms can be found in many other European languages. Who was the first to think of them and how did they cross the borders? That is an interesting question but, leaving sociolinguistics aside, let us take a closer look at some much used idiomatic expressions. Of course, memorising ten or twenty of them is just a small part of a much larger whole.
Here are a few idioms in English with similar counterparts in Croatian. Some people are sensible and practical types, others don’t care much about the “real” world most of the time. But when we fall in love, we are all extremely happy. Still, be careful with love – being honest about something may not always be the wisest thing to do. But then, a smart guy or girl will guess the truth about the situation anyway. If your job is lousy and your partner impossible, it may be time to start over again. And so on… there are many more similar idioms.
