Thursday, March 12, 2009

Idioms and Proverbs


Can you guess the meaning of these proverbs?

  1. Pot calling the kettle black.
  2. Don't beat about the bush.
  3. All that glitters is not gold.
  4. Easier said than done.
  5. Waste not want not.
  6. Look before you leap.
  7. Don't judge the book by the cover.
  8. Once bitten. Twice shy.
  9. Back to the drawing board.
  10. His bark is worse than his bite.
  11. Don't count your chickens before they hatch.
  12. Laugh all the way to the bank.
  13. Throw the baby out with the bath water.
  14. There are no flies on him (or her).
  15. A penny saved is a penny gained.
Not sure what some of these sentences mean? Listen to Learning English with Mister Duncan. He explains these common expressions. Also, listen to the pronunciation.




Here's a true story about the first proverb.

When my grandfather became a widower, I started to notice my grandfather was not the best house cleaner. One day, I noticed the bathroom sink was dirty and complained to my grandfather. His reply was, "That's the pot calling the kettle black". He was right and I still am not that good at cleaning the house.

Now that you understand these proverbs, think of a situation that describes one of the proverbs. Press comments and write the situation plus the proverb.



15 comments:

Jagdipa said...

This is always right that we shouldnot trust anybody by seeing her/him face. It is very important that first we have to know about him/her. Don't jump on very first meeting. This is really true that "Don't judge the book by the cover"

jancy said...

My grandma told my mother once that her marriage was actually a leap before look incident.she had to face lot trouble as her instinct was not for marriage.Later she told the proverb 'look before you leap.

Iris said...

Before I immigrated to Canada, I thought my English would greatly improve when I arrive in an English speaking country. Then when I arrived in Canada, I found it is difficult to master a foreign language. So I understand the meaning of the proverb "Easy said than done."

xu said...

When my English lever is low, I want to learn it fast. Soon, I took an admission test in a college. Unfortunately,I counld not pass the test. From that, I had learned that study English takes time. Just focus on the present and learn it step by step. that means "Once bitten, Twice shy"

Grace said...

Since I and my family left our homeland to a new country-Canada,everything was changed.we have to resettled in here.My husband has to looking for a new job,even so I have to learning English from based.I think,we Back To The Drawing Board.

Bonnie said...

These are great examples!

svetlana said...

When someone wants to do a certain task but he overestimated his own abilities.In this situation you can use a proverb "Easier said than done."

Leena Manuel said...

I tried to trick my son to do his chores by offering him some candy but he rejected my offer. My husband said, "There are no files on him".

Julieta said...

Laugh all the way to the bank.
This idiom is very popular in my country usually, we use when somebody wins the lottery, it means that money comes easily into his pocket.

Karamjit dhillob said...

When i am in India,at that time ithink its easy to get a job as a nurse in canada.My planning is like that ,i jumped in canada and get job.English is not a big tension for me at that time.but now i know the process its too difficult.Now i also know the meaning of that proverbe 'easy to said than done'

karamjit dhillon said...

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Anonymous said...

Before I came to Canada, I thought it is going to be easy to learn English in Canada but now I know it is not easy .That is true (EASIER SAID THAN DONE).

Sinrilla said...

I immigrated to Canada. When I came to Canada, I had a little bit of English and not good speaking . Every day, my dad said, "Your are not speaking in English with your sister and you don't study. You won't get a job." Sometimes, I worry about that. One day, I told my dad the proverb "easier said than done ". But now I think I speak English better than before.

kokila said...

I immigrated to Canada.I thought, "How will I speak in English". I know little bits but I don't speak because our first language is Tamil. English is common language and a second language in our Country. In our school, I studied English. The English was easy. " Easier said than done".

Tahereh said...

Before I came to Canada, I decided to go to college
But when I arrived in Canada, I couldn't speak English . That was very hard for me to talk but how can I go study in college . Easier said than done.