"I’m not hanging noodles on your ears." In Moscow, this curious, engagingly colorful assertion is common parlance, but unless you’re Russian your reaction is probably "Say what?" The same idea in English is equally odd: "I’m not pulling your leg." Both mean: Believe me. As author Jag Bhalla demonstrates, these amusing, often hilarious phrases provide a unique perspective on how different cultures perceive and describe the world. Organized by theme—food, love, romance, and many more—they embody cultural traditions and attitudes, capture linguistic nuance, and shed fascinating light on "the whole ball of wax." For example, when English-speakers are hard at work, we’re "nose to the grindstone," but industrious Chinese toil "with liver and brains spilled on the ground" and busy Indians have "no time to die." If you’re already fluent in 10 languages, you probably won’t need this book, but you’ll "get a kick out of it" anyhow; for the rest of us, it’s a must. Either way, this surprising, often thought-provoking little tome is gift-friendly in appearance, a perfect impulse buy for word lovers, travelers, and anyone else who enjoys looking at life in a riotous, unusual way. And we’re not hanging noodles from your ear.

This first edition of A Tome of Idioms has been published as a comprehensive, concise, compact, and efficient guide to the meanings and origins of Idioms, Proverbs, and Sayings. Each inclusion is written in a clear and uncomplicated style. First published in 2019 this book contains over 900 easily readable entries in systematic order augmented by an extensive Bibliography. This book will be of general interest to everyone who has a curious, inquisitive, questioning, or enquiring intellect. A number of idioms, proverbs, and sayings originate in well-known literature and Holy texts such as, William Shakespeare (60 entries), the Bible (47 entries), John Heywood (27 entries), Aesop (15 entries), and Geoffrey Chaucer (12 entries), to name but a few. Some of these have evolved in many different forms over several years into the expressions we use today. Some phrases have been deliberately omitted, because either they are rude or crude, or they are offensive, an example being "the nitty-gritty". We want this book to be a reference directory to be perused and enjoyed by everyone.

This text presents in everyday English 101 commonly used proverbs, enabling students to use proverbs appropriately and encouraging cross-cultural understanding.

Language "Appealing As Sunlight After a Storm." A sentence should read as if its author, had he held a plough instead of a pen, could have drawn a furrow deep and straight to the end. —Henry David Thoreau Prose consists of ... phrases tacked together like the sections of a prefabricated hen-house. —George Orwell Whether it invokes hard work or merely a hen-house, a good simile is like a good picture—it's worth a thousand words. Packed with more than 16,000 imaginative, colorful phrases—from “abandoned as a used Kleenex” to “quiet as an eel swimming in oil”—the Similes Dictionary will help any politician, writer, or lover of language find just the right saying, be it original or banal, verbose or succinct. Your thoughts will never be "as tedious as a twice-told tale" or "dry as the Congressional Record." Choose from elegant turns of phrases “as useful as a Swiss army knife” and “varied as expressions of the human face”. Citing more than 2,000 sources—from the Bible, Socrates, Shakespeare, Mark Twain, and H. L. Mencken to popular movies, music, and television shows—the Similes Dictionary covers hundreds of subjects broken into thematic categories that include topics such as virtue, anger, age, ambition, importance, and youth, helping you find the fitting phrase quickly and easily. Perfect for setting the atmosphere, making a point, or helping spin a tale with economy, intelligence, and ingenuity, the vivid comparisons found in this collection will inspire anyone. Love comforteth like sunshine after rain. —William Shakespeare A face like a bucket —Raymond Chandler A man with little learning is like the frog who thinks its puddle a great sea. —Burmese proverb Peace, like charity, begins at home —Franklin Delano Roosevelt You know a dream is like a river ever changing as it flows. —Garth Brooks Fit as a fiddle —John Ray’s Proverbs He's not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog. —Arthur Miller Ring true, like good china. —Sylvia Plath Music yearning like a God in pain —John Keats Busy as a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest. —Pat Conroy Enduring as mother love —Anonymous

Are you ready to take your English language skills to new heights? Dive into the world of idioms and phrasal verbs with this comprehensive exercise book designed to enhance your fluency, expand your vocabulary, and unlock the true power of expression. "Idioms and Phrasal Verbs, things you should know, questions and answers" is an invaluable resource for learners at all levels seeking to grasp the subtleties of the English language. Whether you're a beginner wanting to gain confidence or an advanced speaker aiming to refine your understanding, this book offers a systematic approach to mastering these vital elements of communication. Inside this book, you'll find a rich assortment of engaging exercises meticulously crafted to help you: 1. Discover the Essence of Idiomatic Expressions: Uncover the hidden meanings behind commonly used idioms and learn how to incorporate them naturally into your speech and writing. 2. Embrace the Versatility of Phrasal Verbs: Explore the multifaceted nature of phrasal verbs and enhance your ability to use them appropriately in different contexts, whether in casual conversations or formal settings. 3. Reinforce Learning through Practice: Immerse yourself in a variety of interactive exercises, including fill-in-the-blank questions, matching activities, sentence transformations, and contextual usage tasks. Each exercise is thoughtfully designed to reinforce comprehension and application. 4. Expand Your Vocabulary: Expand your lexicon as you encounter a wide range of idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs, deepening your understanding of the English language and equipping you with the tools to express yourself more effectively. 5. Gain Cultural Insights: Delve into the cultural aspects and nuances associated with idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs, allowing you to communicate with native speakers more confidently and comprehend idiomatic references in everyday conversations. 6. Track Your Progress: Measure your growth and track your improvement with comprehensive answer keys provided at the end of the book. This valuable feature enables you to self-assess and identify areas for further development. By engaging with "Idioms and Phrasal Verbs English Exercises," you'll build a solid foundation in idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs, enabling you to communicate with greater fluency, authenticity, and sophistication. Prepare to unlock a whole new level of linguistic competence and connect with others in meaningful and impactful ways. Whether you're a student, a professional, or simply an English language enthusiast, this book will empower you to confidently navigate the intricate terrain of idioms and phrasal verbs, enriching your language skills and enabling you to express yourself with flair and precision. Are you ready to embark on an exciting journey of linguistic discovery? Let "Idioms and Phrasal Verbs English Exercises" be your trusted companion as you explore the fascinating world of idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs.

"Yoruba Proverbs is the most comprehensive collection to date of more than five thousand Yoruban proverbs that showcase Yoruba oral tradition. Following Oyekan Owomoyela's introduction, which provides a framework and description of Yoruba cultural beliefs, the proverbs are arranged by theme into five sections: the good person; the fortunate person (or the good life); relationships; human nature; rights and responsibilities; and truisms. Each proverb is presented in Yoruba with a literal English translation, followed by a brief commentary explaining the meaning of the proverb within the oral tradition." "This definitive source book on Yoruba proverbs is the first to give such detailed, systematic classification and analysis alongside a careful assessment of the risks and pitfalls of submitting this genre to the canons of literary analysis."--BOOK JACKET.

This is the most innovative, comprehensive, and scholarly bilingual dictionary of Russian idioms available today. It includes close to 14,000 idioms, set expressions, and sayings found in contemporary colloquial Russian and in literature from the nineteenth century to the present. The Russian idioms are provided with many English equivalents to render idioms in various contexts. Illustrative examples are cited to show how the idioms are used in context. Each entry also contains a grammatical description of the idiom, a definition—an innovative feature for a bilingual dictionary—and stylistic and usage information. A most notable part of the work is the alphanumeric index that makes finding the right expression very easy.

Are you a holy terror? Are you a go-boy? Could you live on the skin of a rasher? Or are you so hungry that you eat a farmer's arse through a hedge? When you're on the razz, do you get so buckled, crippled and scuttered that you can't get your back outa the scratcher in the morning? Never mind the answers: if you understand the questions you are in Slanguage country. If you don't, you need to be. This is the dictionary that glosses the words that real Irish people use in the streets each day, every day. Slang is elusive. Some words and phrases are always there. Others slip in and out of usage according to the whims of fashion. This expanded edition of the standard dictionary of Irish slang includes many entries not in the 1997 edition. It has dropped a few that have fallen out of favour and has revised others. In all, this edition is 25 per cent longer than its predecessor. It will confirm Bernard Share's invaluable book in its position as the major work of its kind, combining scholarship and a keen sense of fun. "Slanguage" does justice to it by taking it seriously, but not too seriously.

Phrases, idioms, and clichés—why do we say the things we say? Watch Your Tongue explores weird and wonderful everyday sayings and what they reveal about us. Do you ever wonder why you shouldn’t have a cow but you should seize a bull by its horns? Who has the better reputation in language—cats or dogs? Do you sometimes feel that our speech is all smoke and mirrors or that our expressions simply make no sense? In Watch Your Tongue, award-winning author Mark Abley explores the phrases, idioms, and clichés of our everyday language. With wit and subtle wisdom, he unravels the mysteries of these expressions, illuminating the history, tradition and stories behind everything we say. Pulling examples from Shakespeare’s plays to sports team names, ancient Rome to Twitter, Abley shares samples and anecdotes of the eccentric ways that we play with, parse, and pattern language. Why do so many companies use fruit for their brand names? What do politicians mean when they say they’re going to “drain the swamp”? Why does English use chickens to signify cowardice? Abley dives into the history and psychology behind these examples and countless others, unpacking their significance (and sheer absurdity) to show how our language developed, where it is headed, and what we can learn about ourselves from it. Whimsically illustrated, easily browsable, and full of catchy sidebars, Watch Your Tongue celebrates how we amuse ourselves with words and what our sayings reveal about the way we see the world.