Idioms that occurred as a result of historical events
Many idiomatic expressions came to the English language both due to the
peculiarities of life and due to significant historical events of the state level. Some
phraseological units are considered so apt and successful that they are still used
today. Idioms like
"to fall in love"
are so often used in speech that they are no
longer considered phraseological units.
Many idioms are based on expressions that
once had a literal meaning. For example,
"to let your hair down"
- behave at
ease, relax. The expression comes from centuries when women wore
tall complex
hairstyles. It was very difficult to create and maintain such a hairstyle during the
day. And in the evening you could finally loosen your hair and relax.
“
Break a
leg
”
(Russian analogue
“ни пуха ни пера ”
) - used as a wish of
success and good
luck. This expression first appeared in print in the 1900s. Folklore of different
countries has always warned that wishes for success and good luck can bring the
opposite: if
you want success, then, tempting demons, you can bring trouble to a
person. Therefore, you need to want failure or something bad [4]. The idiom "a hot
potato" came to English relatively recently. Its appearance is associated with the
popularity of potatoes as a product in general and in particular baked potatoes.
Holding hot potatoes in your hands is unpleasant and even painful. Hence the
analogy: an unpleasant question or a situation that I want to quickly solve - like hot
potatoes, which I want to quickly release from my hands. To bring home the bacon
- make a living or support a family on your own. This idiom has two interesting
versions of origin. According to the
first version, a strange competition with a
piglet was held at English fairs: a pig crushed with fat had to be caught, and the
winner took the trophy - "brought home bacon. The
second version is more
romantic: a long time ago a woman from Danomow in Essex came up with a very
dubious event: a couple had to live in peace and harmony for
one year and one day,
and those who managed to get a large piece of bacon as a prize. This competition is
still held to this day [7]. Expression to go Dutch (ext. go Dutch) are used when
they want to report that the bill (usually in a restaurant) is divided equally between
all people at the table. The idiom is associated with military time and the
sharp
dislike of the British for the Dutch. So, the inhabitants of Holland were considered
greedy people who always calculate who and how much should pay for
a joint
meal, they did not pay for their friends.
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: