English idioms
 

Hi.
I would like to practice English idioms.
So I will write more than five sentences using the idiom for the day.
Any correction or advice will be appreciated.
Am I using the idiom properly?
Thank you.

No.1 cut a deal
No.2 add insult to injury
No.3 hang on
No.4 make a big deal
No.5 work out


................................................

Today's idiom is cut a deal.

A scene from the movie Batman (1989). Jack stole Carl's woman. So Carl is trying to kill him. After surviving Carl's death trap, Jack goes to Carl to kill him.

If I remember it correctly, the scene was something like this.

Jack;You set me up for a woman. A woman!
Carl; Jack!......Maybe we can cut a deal.
(Carl is preparing the gun facing his back to Jack.)
Jack; Don't bother!

......................
Last year the company cut several deals with suppliers. (from a textbook)

.......................
My wife and I have cut a deal to divorce after 20 years marriage life.

.........................
Toyota and Nissan cut a deal to merge, in order to survive the winter season of the automobile industry.

......................
I'll never cut a deal with anyone.
=I don't bargain.
=I don't compromise.

.......................

That definitely sounds American. I doubt if we in the UK would use that idiom-- Not to my knowledge anyway although often we do pick up American style expressions.


Here is a website with many Idioms.

Idioms/A

This looks useful also: Phrases that start with the letter 'B'

Here also is alist of cliches which we often over use without thinking

Cliches: Avoid Them Like the Plague

OK, thanks.
I didn't even recognize that it is an American idiom.

I will adopt the next idiom from the website you recommended to me.

"Cut a deal" is probably an American expression. I hear it mostly used in regard to legal situations than anywhere else.

"My lawyer cut a deal with the prosecutor so I won't see the inside of a jail cell."

I didn't know it was just an American expression either.

Anyway, "Cut a deal" would most likely be said in a business situation and the like. It is a familiar idiom. "Make a deal" means the same thing.

Not to get too nit-picky, but "cut a deal" and "make a deal" aren't used exactly the same way.

"Make a deal" implies a mutually beneficial arrangement, and might be something a mother says to her child. "I'll make you a deal: you take out the garbage, then you can play video games."

"Cut a deal" sounds a someone is getting an advantage, or it may not be completely fair, but is the resolution.

"They didn't have the evidence to go for murder one, so the defense cut a deal to drop the charges to manslaughter."

Thank you, BBB and Kuuzoku, for your detailed explanation of the idioms.

The two country have cut a deal with each other in regard to the elimination of non-agricultural tariff.

They have cut a deal, and the plea-bargain's been accepted at the minor court.

Princess Amidara and the chief of Naboo natives cut a deal in order to face the new enemy, the Emperor Parpatine.

Maybe we can make a deal. First school, and you will be able to do anything you like after graduation.

I'll make you a deal. First, homework, and then you can enjoy TV.

No.2 add insult to injury
 

Hi.

There is a Japanese idiom equivalent to "Add insult to injury";
泣きっ面に蜂　(a bee sting to the crying face. When a child is crying, a bee flies to him and stings into his face.)

I lost my wallet at the street yesterday, and to add insult to injury, I got lost.

I lost my credit-card two weeks ago, and then to add insult to injury,　a lot of expensive demand notes have arrived at me, which I don't remember.

I had a severe headache and took a pain killer, and then to add insult to injury, my stomach began to ache.

My English teacher corrected my English essay completely, and to add insult to injury, he denied my personality.

I and my wife divorced, and then to add insult to injury, my daughter's gone with her.

Hey! It seems impossible to write something happy, with this idiom!

These don't seem like QUITE when I would use "add insult to injury". To simply have a bad thing happen, and then another isn't quite enough. It must be more related and more egregious.

I lost my wallet at the street yesterday, and then to add insult to injury, whoever found it stole my credit cards!

I had a severe headache and took a pain killer, and then to add insult to injury, the pain killer gave me a stomachache.

My wife left me, and then to add insult to injury, she took my pet dog with her.

Thanks. I think I got your suggestion, MMM.
My previous example sentences are not for "to add insult to injury" but for "to make the matter worse", right?


I lost my wallet in the street yesterday, and to add insult to injury, it started to rain. (wrong)
I lost my wallet in the street yesterday, and to make the matter worse, it started to rain. (correct)

The second bad-luck should be closely related to the first bad-luck, or, the second tragedy is caused by the first tragedy, when it comes to "add insult to injury".

The tsunami killed tens of thousands of people, and to add insult to injury, it destroyed the atomic power plant.
I offer my deep condolences to those who are affected by that tragedy.

How about this suggestion, rewording the sentence without using idioms.

I lost my wallet on the street yesterday and my luck got worse, it started to rain.

I avoid idioms when possible because they can be ambiguous or overexploited, although some idioms can be a clear and effective way of expression.

thing is: Supperman wants to practice using Idioms because we Do use them a lot in every day life.

someone on here did suggest that Supperman did practice Idioms in order to help his English studies, so I presume that is exactly what Supperman is trying to do.

that looks accurate according to MM's explanations.

Good try Supperman.

I see, it is true that studying idioms is a quick way of learning.

Hi, they don't always make sense because that is of their nature. It is best not to think about the actual words too much and just remember the idiom meaning itself. This is how I approach idioms in other languages.

I lost my wallet at the street. (wrong)
I lost my wallet in the street. (correct)

The two country (wrong)
The two countries (correct)

a lot of expensive demand notes have arrived at me, (wrong)
a lot of expensive demand notes have arrived me, (correct)

I and my wife divorced (wrong)
my wife and I divorced (correct)

Thanks, dogsbody70!

I agree that it is better not to use idioms in your own speech when you want to be understood clearly. However, knowing what the most common idioms meant to most people is a way of improving your conversational english. Some idioms are overused and can become a bad habit in your speech, which might be difficult to correct later on.

Globish
 

Hi.

I don't need to learn idioms for communication between non-natives.
I feel I can communicate fairly well with ESL (English as a second language) speaking people.
I just have to use Globish** with such people.

**Globish; a simple, dull, idiom-free version of English with a small vocabulary

///////////////////////////

I can understand the news programs of native-English speaking country, because they don't use idioms much. They mainly use formal expressions.

I may communicate with native-English-speaking people, when they regard me as a non-native, and preventing to use idioms.

Yet, I can't understand the conversation between natives, mainly because I don't know idioms or colloquial expressions.
I can't understand TV dramas or movies, mainly because I don't know idioms or colloquial expressions.

Like other non-native English speaking people, I don't like to learn idioms either.
But I have to learn them in order to understand natives' English.
Because they use them.
This is why I started this thread.

No.3 hang on
 

hang on
Meaning; Endure or persevere
Origin; Using one's hands to control something
Example; If you could hang on for one more week, I think we can have it finished by Friday.

..................................
In the movie Batman(1989).
When Joker attacks the museum, Batman holds Bickey Vale's body (Kim Basinger) and they escape from the museum by using a Batman's rope-way like equipment.
Batman says to Bickey, just one word; "Hold on!"
If I remembered it correctly.

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・
If I hang on to continue this thread, I would become a Master of English!

We should hold on the nuclear power plant disaster, for our bright future.

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・
I ask a question; Is it possible to use "hang on" in negative form? As in;

Joker couldn't hold on the rope, and fell down into the acid bath.
Joker couldn't hold on the rope radder of the helicopter, and fell down to death.
.........................

Naoto Kan hangs on his present post, and he won't resign.
It is quite a shame from the point of view of Bushido-spirits.
...........................
If you could hang on studying for three more months, you will pass the entrance examination.

we often say "HANG ON" when someone is waiting for us. If they are in a hurry and we want to finish what we are doing-- such as finishing off an essay, we might say: " Hang on a minute- won't be long" meaning we want them to wait for a short time until we have finished what we are doing, So in that context we are asking them to wait a minute or two for us. "Hang on, I want to look in this shop." expecting a friend to wait a minute while they look in the certain shop.

I would not say:
If I hang on to continue this thread, I would become a Master of English!.
If I persevere with this thread Yes if you persevere you will make good progress-- but Hang On is incorrect in this context.

Maybe someone might say "Hang on in there" if you are feeling everything is too much for you-- we might say " Hang on in there, don't give up, you can do it--" sort of thing.

mostly correct Superman.

Okay. You need to learn about ONTO and INTO I think.

He's correct though, isn't he?

I'd say he needs more to learn between "on to" and "onto", having skimmed through what he posted in the quote you provided I can't see where he should have said "into".

It would be more correct to say "A lot of expensive demand notes have arrived for me" but this still sounds awkward. It's more usual to say "I have received a lot of expensive demand notes".

As for "hang on", there are lots of uses. As you might have already seen, some are literal, some aren't-
Pete: What's happened?
Suzie: Bob has fallen off a cliff and is hanging on by his fingers!
Pete: Hang on, Bob! Help is on it's way!

This is literal- Bob has something in his hands (the rocks of the cliff), and Pete is saying 'Don't let go!' or 'Don't fall'.

Bob is rescued from the cliff and then sees Bill with his dog.
"Hold on to the dog's collar, he might bite me." Again, literally 'don't let go'

'Hanging on' is also like being in a state of inaction. Bob can't climb while he's hanging on, and neither can he fall. When Dogsbody asks her friend to 'hang on, wait for me', she's asking her friend to wait in a state of inaction; not going ahead, but not coming back to her either. This is a non-literal use of 'hang on' because the friend has nothing in her hands.

Mum: Hey, hurry up and get off the computer! >[
Me: Hang on, hang on! It's just printing! >P

Sue: Should I put the fish in now?
Anna: Hang on, let me read the recipe.

Sometimes we use it to mean 'stay how you are until this difficult event/thing passes you by.'

Let's go back to Bob. The dog bit him and he's now at the hospital.
Bob: Doctor, it hurts! Please can I have some pain relief?
Doctor: Just hang on, Bob, we must stop the bleeding first.

In this case, Bob doesn't have a choice- he has to just endure until he stops bleeding before they'll let him have some medicine. So the doctor is actually being almost encouraging. He means 'just endure this for now, and then things will get better'. So 'hang on studying' doesn't make sense, because in that situation, you'd have to actively go ahead and study to pass the test. hang on is usually not followed by verb 'ing'.

And now a negative use of 'hold on'.
When it's literally something in your hand, we tend to use 'onto' (sometimes written 'on to'). "Bob couldn't hold onto the cliff, and he fell." "The Joker couldn't hold onto the ladder and he fell." "Bill didn't hold onto his dog, and it bit someone."

Sometimes this is used in terms of someone's life situation; it's not quite literal- you don't have it in your hand, but it's something someone has in their life. "Suzie's a nice girl but she just can't hold onto a job." She quits or gets fired a lot. "I can't seem to hold onto my money at the moment- as fast as I make it, I spend it!" "Bob didn't hold onto his wife, and now she's left him for Bill."

When we use 'hold on' in the negative without 'to' it's usually in terms of someone's ability to endure, and more general. "I can't hold on anymore" means "I am about to break" "I want this to end" "I've had enough of this situation."

Bob: I just can't hold on anymore; I nearly died falling off a cliff, a dog bit me, I lost my job and my wife has left me for another man. I've tried to stay cheerful, but it's just too much- I wish my life was over!

You might notice i've used both 'hang on' and 'hold on'; but it's ok! They're mostly interchangeable!

I agree. 'Into' isn't a problem here. It's a slight confusion between when to use just 'on', and when to use 'onto' or 'on to'.

About No.3 hang on
 

Thank you, dogsbody70, RobinMask and Columbine, for your detailed suggestion.

First, I have to apologize of my confusion between "hang on" and "hold on".
I confused completely, and thought the two idioms as the same thing.

I now realize that the two are different each other.

From now on, I will check it out and learn what was taught by all of you.

Thank you. :)

whatever you say. How about using your imagination Robin and not make a big deal by a stray comment of mine.

Forgive me, but when someone is trying to learn English it is a big deal. The slightest mistype or error can change a person's meaning immensely, and for a learner any misunderstanding can prove fatal, it's very hard to change a habit, if he gets used to using the wrong grammatical forms and spelling now . . . well, you can use your imagination to fill in the rest of that sentence ;)

If you'd made a stray comment in any other thread, then that would be fair enough and I'd apologise for being pedantic, but when someone is learning a language we owe it to them to be as accurate as possible. For that reason I take offense at your tone somewhat, because I think that telling him he's making errors when he isn't will only serve to confuse him.

Over and out ;)

Edit: I'd also add another user also said the same as I did, so it is rather unfair you would accuse only me of making a 'big deal'.

" Hang on a minute- won't be long" (correct)
meaning we want them to wait for a short time until we have finished what we are doing, So in that context we are asking them to wait a minute or two for us.
"Hang on, I want to look in this shop." expecting a friend to wait a minute while they look in the certain shop. (correct)

If I hang on to continue this thread, I would become a Master of English!. (wrong)
If I persevere with this thread, I will make a good progress. (correct)

"Hang on in there" (correct)
" Hang on in there, don't give up, you can do it--" (correct)

"A lot of expensive demand notes have arrived me" (wrong)
"A lot of expensive demand notes have arrived for me" (awkward)
"I have received a lot of expensive demand notes". (correct)

Pete: What's happened?
Suzie: Bob has fallen off a cliff and is hanging on by his fingers!
Pete: Hang on, Bob! Help is on it's way!

"Hold on to the dog's collar, he might bite me."

Mum: Hey, hurry up and get off the computer! >[
Me: Hang on, hang on! It's just printing! >P

Sue: Should I put the fish in now?
Anna: Hang on, let me read the recipe.

Let's go back to Bob. The dog bit him and he's now at the hospital.
Bob: Doctor, it hurts! Please can I have some pain relief?
Doctor: Just hang on, Bob, we must stop the bleeding first.

'hang on studying' (wrong)
hang on ---ing (wrong)

"Bob couldn't hold onto the cliff, and he fell."
"The Joker couldn't hold onto the ladder and he fell."
"Bill didn't hold onto his dog, and it bit someone."

"Suzie's a nice girl but she just can't hold onto a job."
She quits or gets fired a lot.
"I can't seem to hold onto my money at the moment- as fast as I make it, I spend it!"
"Bob didn't hold onto his wife, and now she's left him for Bill."


"I can't hold on anymore" means "I am about to break" "I want this to end" "I've had enough of this situation."

Bob: I just can't hold on anymore; I nearly died falling off a cliff, a dog bit me, I lost my job and my wife has left me for another man. I've tried to stay cheerful, but it's just too much- I wish my life was over!

"Hold on" and "Hang on" each have several meanings.
The "wait" meaning is the same.

The different meanings need to be learned separately.

Superman I checked some of your sentences and posts in other threads and my quick recommendation to you is to make some flashcards of phrasal verbs.

Phrasal verbs are the source of a lot of confusion for most ESL learners.
How often and how well (transparently) someone can use them is a good sign of their level.

Hi James, I never even knew what Phrasal Verbs were until my friend told me.

It seems that we use them a great deal, and it must be very hard for others to learn them.

Maybe you can put some examples here for us?

"Making a mountain out of a mole hill" Another idiom.

apparently I have committed a crime by suggesting you learn about INTO.


Into/In To; Onto/In To. This gives a few examples on both In TO INTO

and On TO ONTO.

Phrasal Verbs List
List of English phrasal verbs
A-Z List of Phrasal Verbs - UsingEnglish.com
Phrasal Verbs List | EFLnet

there are thousands of sites listing them, and they're all incomplete lol
what's worse is that some of them are lacking some definitions based on where the object is placed

Thank you RealJapmes, for your advice.
Yes, I thought "idioms" include "phrasal verbs".

BTW, I have two questions regarding to your advice.
First, which do you mean by "flashcard"?
the high-tech, IPOD software,
or
the classical tag-shaped sheets of paper which is combined by a metal ring, which we call "単語カード"?

Which do you recommend? or
Which do your students seem to use in Japan?

And the second question is;
are there any difference among, 'verb phrase', 'verbal phrase' and 'phrasal verb'?
Are they identical and interchangeable?

Thank you.
The site is quite interesting!
And of course, educational!

A few of my students use the iPod software, many use the actual 単語カード, I feel the real one is better because it's more difficult to forget about it since you can put it on your desk as a visual reminder.
The important thing is that you regularly review the English you aren't familiar with or have forgotten.
I also recommend that while you are going through the flashcards you write example sentences from your imagination using the words which you couldn't remember immediately.

verb phrase and verbal phrase are the same
Most verbal phrases are also phrasal verbs
This is only a verbal phrase; "My friend is pushing the envelope." (it means going close to the limit)
Phrasal verbs and Verbal Phrases are basically all idiomatic.

I suggested you focus on Phrasal Verbs because in everyday speech we use them much more than idiomatic verbal phrases or simple idioms.
We (native speakers) also tend to speak without idioms and idiomatic verbal phrases when speaking to non-native speakers but we tend to keep the phrasal verbs, sometimes even use them more often.

I want to show one example of why phrasal verbs can be very difficult;
get over with it -> forget about it, continue with life and stop thinking of it
"I want to get over with thinking of my ex-girlfriend, but she was so sexy it's difficult!"
get it over with -> finally do something which is difficult or postponed
"I've been really worried about my JLPT next Sunday but I can't wait to get it over with!"