PRESENTATION ABOUT NATURE IDIOMS

   

AS COLD AS STONE

MEANING

It can refer both for objects or people: if something is as cols as stone, it means that it is very cold; if someone is as cold as stone, it means that he/she is unemotional. There are severla equivalents in Spanish for this idiom: "tan frío como el hielo" (when meaning very cold), "tan duro como una piedra" (when meaning unemotional).

ORIGIN

This idioms comes from Shakespeare's Henry V, 1598,

Hostess:

[...]
So a' cried out 'God, God, God!' three or 
four times. Now I, to comfort him, bid him a' 
should not think of God; I hoped there was no need 
to trouble himself with any such thoughts yet. So 
a' bade me lay more clothes on his feet: I put my 
hand into the bed and felt them, and they were as 
cold as any stone; then I felt to his knees, and 
they were as cold as any stone, and so upward and 
upward, and all was as cold as any stone.

EXAMPLES

When Emily told us the story, we all were touched except Peter; he is cold as stone!

We couldn't sit in that bench because it was cold as stone due to last night freeze.

BREAK THE ICE

MEANING

To break down social formality and stiffness. The equivalent in Spanish would be “romper el hielo”

ORIGIN

The earlier meaning of this phrase, that is, 'to forge a path for others to follow', alludes of course to the breaking of ice to allow the navigation of boats. The figurative use is quite old and was recorded by Sir Thomas North in his 1579 translation of Plutarch's Lives of the noble Grecians and Romanes:

"To be the first to break the Ice of the Enterprize."

It wasn't until the latter part of the 17th century that it took on its current meaning of 'establish a relaxed relationship in socially awkward situations'; for example, Samuel Butler's Hudibras, 1678:

"The Oratour - At last broke silence, and the Ice."

EXAMPLES

What do you do in a new class to help break the ice and get students talking?

As there was an uncomfortable silence, I decided to talk about the weather to break the ice.

SEA CHANGE

MEANING

A radical change or transformation. The equivalent in Spanish would be “cambio radical”

ORIGIN

From Shakespeare's The Tempest, 1610:

ARIEL [sings]:

Full fathom five thy father lies;

Of his bones are coral made;

Those are pearls that were his eyes:

Nothing of him that doth fade

But doth suffer a sea-change

Into something rich and strange.

Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell

Shakespeare's usage incorporates the current meaning, that is, a radical change. He also made the expression richer by alluding to the literal meaning, that is, 'a change that is brought about by the sea'.

EXAMPLES

The beginning of my university studies was a sea change in my life.

There has been a sea change in town; when I came back I realized lots of things have changed.

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

Meaning: in difficulty, faced with a choice between two unsatisfactory options. For example: ``I couldn't make up my mind. I was caught between a rock and a hard place ´´
The equivalent in Spanish would be ``entre la espada y la pared´´

Origin: the origin of this phrase is believed to be rooted in the United States. It is not entirely clear where exactly this expression comes from, but some guess that it may come from Arizona during financial panics that happened in the early 20th century.

DOWN-TO-EARTH

Meaning: someone who is practical and realistic, as in ``David is very arty and a bit of a dreamer but Ruth is more down-to-earth´´

The equivalent in Spanish would be ``con los pies en la tierra´´

Origin: the origin of this idiom is unclear. The easrliar I could find this idiom with its figurative meaning of ``something that's reasonable´´ is during the 20th century in a newspaper from 1922 called Newark Advocate, there is a section in the paper about woman`s clothing and the idioms is used to describe their so-called practical prices

SKY'S THE LIMIT 

Meaning: there is no limits to the possibilities something could have. For example ``With two important film roles and a major award, it seems like the sky is the limit for this talented young actress´´ 

Origin: it was originated at a time of optimism and progress in the USA just before the WWI

Now video time!! I hope you enjoy learning and listening to music!!

MAKE A MOUNTAIN OUT OF A MOLEHILL

MEANING

It means to exagerate the severity of a situation; to make a lot of fuss about nothing.

You're making a mountain out of a molehill. You didn't mean to hurt her.

ORIGIN

The idea for this phrase is this: You are taking something small, such as a molehill, and you are making it out to be bigger than it truly is. This expression is typically applied to problems people have. Often times, people will argue or cause trouble over the most insignificant things. Hence, someone who escalates a small problem into a larger one is said to be overreacting, or as the phrase puts it, they are 'making a mountain out of a molehill.' This saying is found in writing as early as the year 1660. It's written by James Howell in a lexicon book containing proverbs from many different languages. Worthy of note is that the concept for this idiom has existed for an even longer time, the only difference being the sort of imagery that's used. Instead of mountains and molehills, this older idiom is about "making an elephant out of a fly." This older phrase is said to go back as far as the year 1548, so it's possible that 'making a mountain out of a molehill' derives from this earlier expression.

EXAMPLE

Don't make a mountain out of a molehill. It's not that important.

BEAT AROUND THE BUSH

MEANING

To treat a topic, without mentioning its main points, often intentionally, because the topic is difficult or unpleasant.

ORIGIN

The figurative meaning of the phrase 'beat around the bush' or, as it is usually expressed in the UK, 'beat about the bush', evolved from the earlier literal meaning. In bird hunts some of the participants roused the birds by beating the bushes and enabling others, to use a much later phrase, to 'cut to the chase' and catch the quarry in nets. So 'beating about the bush' was the preamble to the main event, which was the capturing of the birds. “Beat around the bush” as far as the relative global popularity of the two versions of the phrase goes, the US version is becoming the standard.

EXAMPLE

Stop beating around the bush and tell me what happens!

DROP IN THE BUCKET

MEANING

Something so strong that it doesn't count or doesn't have any importance or significance. A very small proportion of the whole.

ORIGIN

From the Bible, Isaiah 40:15 : "Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing”. 'A drop in the bucket' is the predecessor of 'a drop in the ocean', which means the same thing, and is first found in a piece from The Edinburgh Weekly Journal, July 1802: "The votes for the appointment of Bonaparte to be Chief Consul for life are like a drop in the ocean compared with the aggregate of the population of France."

EXAMPLE

Our school is sending a thousand tons of food to the poor countries, but that's just a drop in the bucket compared to what's needed.

CHOSE THE CORRECT ANSWERS

Quiz

 

1. Between a rock and a hard place.
   1.   If you are between a rock and a hard place, you have to make a difficult decision between two things that are equally unpleasant.
   2.   To make a slight difficulty seem like a serious problem.
2. A drop in the bucket.
   1.   To avoid talking about what is important.
   2.   A very small or unimportant amount.
3. Every rose has its thorn.
   1.   Every good thing has something bad about it, the negative term for every cloud has a silver lineing.
   2.   If something is as cold as stone, it is very cold. If a person is as cold as stone, they are unemotional.
4. As cold as Stone.
   1.   If something is as cold as stone, it is very cold. If a person is as cold as stone, they are unemotional.
   2.   If you are between a rock and a hard place, you have to make a difficult decision between two things that are equally unpleasant.
5. Make a mountain out of a molehill.
   1.   Every good thing has something bad about it, the negative term for every cloud has a silver lineing.
   2.   To make a slight difficulty seem like a serious problem.
6. Beat around the bush.
   1.   To avoid talking about what is important.
   2.   If something is as cold as stone, it is very cold. If a person is as cold as stone, they are unemotional.

IMPORTANT: YOU DON' T NEED TO LEAVE ANY SPACE BETWEEN WORDS!

Nature Idioms

Crossword

Complete the crossword. You don't put any space between words.

												1
			2														3
				4
				5
6

Across: 2. Someone who is practical and sensible 4. A big and sudden change 5. You get over any initial embarrassment when you meet someone for the first time and start conversing. 6. is an unussual or false quiet period before a period of disorder

Down: 1. Plans that are unlikely to happen 3. When you think that there no limits to the possibilities something could have.