I love idioms and I use them as much as I can. This is why today I will be making a compilation of the most common idioms about parts of the body. Why did I choose parts of the body ? Well, I find it amazing that you normally need possessive adjectives before parts of the body in English (my eyes), but you don't frequently need possessive adjectives in idioms related to parts of the body ! Another interesting English quirk, don't you think ?
Let's begin :
1. It costs an arm and a leg : Something very pricey and costly. Nope ! Unlike in Spanish, in English we don't say that it costs a kidney. For example, organizing a body costs an arm and a leg, don't you think ?
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| From : https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-develop-learning-culture-doesnt-cost-arm-leg-shahla-khan-mba |
2. Pull somebody's leg : When you joke around or kid a person, you are pulling their leg. For example, stop pulling my leg ! I'm sure you didn't have dinner with Brad Pitt yesterday !
In Spanish, this idiom is a bit different : we pull somebody's hair. Which one do you prefer ?
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| https://agendadeingles.wordpress.com/2015/11/17/456/ |
3. I cannot believe my eyes / my ears: I find it difficult to believe in something unless I see it with my own eyes or hear it with your own ears. For instance, when I saw Ben and Claudia together I couldn't believe my eyes ! Ben is dating Chloe !
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| https://makeameme.org/meme/i-cant-believe-h4b6ej |
4. (I have) a heart of gold : If someone has a heart of gold, they are very kind and generous. John apologized Martha for everything she had done to him. He has a heart of gold.
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| From : https://es.pinterest.com/explore/coraz%C3%B3n-de-oro/ |
5. he is a pain in the neck / in the ass : When you refer to a very upsetting or annoying person, as in the sentence : 'I can't stand Greg. He is a pain in the neck/in the ass.' In Spanish, however, we say someone is like a zit / spot in the ass. Interesting, ha?
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| https://es.pinterest.com/english_monika/english-idioms-proverbs-and-slang/ |
6. Shoot yourself in the foot : When you do something that brings problems to you.
shoot on your own foot. He suggested embarking on the project and, as a result, he had to work late all the weekends. He shot himself in the foot.
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| From : https://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photos-shooting-yourself-foot-cartoon-humor-concept-illustration-saying-proverb-image40092718 |
7. Turn the back on someone : When you betray and refuse to help someone, e.g. I wanted him to support me but instead, he turned his back on me and lied about the matter.
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| From : https://es.pinterest.com/acarononeill/jane-eyre/ |
8. By a hair / by a hair's breadth / by a whisker / by a nose: Very narrowly; when you achieve something but you were about to fail. For example, he passed the exam by a hair (he was about to fail). He won by a nose !
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| From : https://www.ui1.es/blog-ui1/del-dicho-al-hecho-historico-de-donde-viene-la-expresion-salvarse-por-los-pelos |
9. To have a sweet tooth : When you love chocolates and sweets. Jennifer loves chocolate. She has a sweet tooth.
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| https://hagarlanguages.wordpress.com/2014/02/28/todays-idiom-having-a-sweet-tooth/ |
10. See eye to eye on something : To agree or have similar ideas. For instance, Jackson and Tod don't see eye to eye on bullfights. They have a lot of arguments about this issue.
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| https://es.pinterest.com/explore/seeing-eye/ |
11. To have a bit of a cheek / to be cheeky : To be impertinent and overly disrespectful, for example, I painted his house as a favour and he didn't thank me properly. He has a bit of a cheek !
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| From : http://www.vayagif.com/19624/vaya-cara-teneis |
12. Give me a hand : Help me ! : Mum, can you give a hand with my homework ?
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| http://tunedinwellness.com/can-you-give-me-a-hand/ |
Well, did you enjoy these idioms. Soon I will come back with a brand new bunch of body idioms for your delight. What is your favourite body idiom ? Please, post in in a comment !
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