How Flavell's Dictionary of Idioms and their Origins Can Improve Your Language Skills: Pdf Download Guide
Dictionary of Idioms and their Origins by Flavell pdf download
If you are interested in learning more about the English language and its rich and colorful expressions, you might want to check out Dictionary of Idioms and their Origins by Linda and Roger Flavell. This is a comprehensive and fascinating book that explores over 400 idioms in English and explains their meanings and histories. In this article, we will tell you everything you need to know about this book, including how to download it for free as a pdf file.
Dictionary Of Idioms And Their Origins By Flavell Pdf Download
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What are idioms and why are they important?
An idiom is a phrase or expression that has a figurative meaning that is different from its literal meaning. For example, when someone says "it's raining cats and dogs", they don't mean that animals are falling from the sky. They mean that it's raining very heavily. Idioms are formed by various factors, such as culture, history, literature, religion, or humor. They enrich language and communication by adding color, imagery, emotion, or humor. They also reflect the values, beliefs, and traditions of a society or a group.
Idioms are very common in everyday speech and writing. They can make your language more natural, fluent, expressive, and persuasive. However, they can also be very confusing for learners or speakers of a different language, because they often don't make sense literally. That's why it's important to learn the meanings and origins of idioms, so that you can understand them better and use them appropriately.
How to use the dictionary of idioms and their origins
The dictionary of idioms and their origins by Flavell is a great resource for anyone who wants to learn more about idioms in English. The book contains over 400 idioms, arranged alphabetically by keyword. For each idiom, you will find:
The meaning of the idiom in simple and clear language
The origin of the idiom, including its historical, cultural, literary, or religious background
The usage of the idiom, including its frequency, register, tone, and context
An example sentence that shows how the idiom is used in natural speech or writing
To use the book, you can either look up a specific idiom that you want to learn more about, or browse through the book and discover new idioms that catch your attention. You can also use the index at the end of the book to find idioms by theme, such as animals, colors, food, or money.
Examples of common idioms and their origins
Here are some examples of common idioms and their origins from the book:
Idiom
Meaning
Origin
Achilles' heel
A weak or vulnerable point
From Greek mythology, where Achilles was a hero who was invulnerable except for his heel, which was wounded by an arrow and caused his death
Bite the bullet
To face a painful or unpleasant situation bravely
From the practice of soldiers biting on a bullet to endure pain or surgery without anesthesia in wartime
Cat got your tongue?
A question asked to someone who is silent or reluctant to speak
Possibly from the idea of a cat stealing someone's tongue as a punishment for lying or gossiping, or from the image of a cat catching a mouse and leaving it speechless
Don't cry over spilt milk
Don't be upset about something that has already happened and cannot be changed
From the proverb "No weeping for shed milk", which dates back to the 17th century and means that it is useless to regret something that is irreversible
Eat humble pie
To admit one's mistake or fault and apologize humbly
From the term "umbles", which were the innards of an animal, such as the heart, liver, or lungs, and were considered a low-quality food for poor people. To eat humble pie was to eat something inferior or unpleasant.
Fly off the handle
To lose one's temper suddenly and violently
From the image of an axe head flying off its handle due to poor craftsmanship or careless use, causing damage or injury
Go bananas
To go crazy, wild, or excitedFrom the association of bananas with monkeys, who are known for their energetic and unpredictable behaviorHit the nail on the head >To say or do something exactly right >From the skill of driving a nail into a piece of wood with one accurate blow of a hammer >In a nutshell >In a few words; briefly; concisely >From the legend that Pliny the Elder, a Roman naturalist, wrote that a copy of Homer's epic poem The Iliad was found inside a walnut shell >Kick the bucket >To die; to pass away >Possibly from the idea of a person standing on a bucket to commit suicide by hanging and then kicking it away, or from the French expression "kiquer le baquet", which means "to kick the beam", referring to a beam that supported a slaughtered pig.How to download the dictionary of idioms and their origins pdf for freeIf you want to download the dictionary 71b2f0854b