Idioms.

Food idioms
Idiom is a group of words that has a special meaning that is different from the ordinary meaning of each separate word. For example 'under the weather' is an idioms meaning 'ill'. Idioms and proverbs are indicative of the way of life and the collective wisdom of speakers of a given language. Since sustenance is an integral part of everyday life, expressions with a food component are even more closely related to the necessities of life, and hence immediately reflect the mentality of a language community. Such expressions make the speech of learners of English more pictures ue and natural!sounding. "hraseological units entail a vast sub#ect of analysis. $hereas it is true that there exist various learning materials dedicated to idioms and proverbs, they usually include only the most popular food expressions. %he current paper is more of a practical than of theoretical nature. Its main ob#ective is to present to the language learner a fuller picture of food idioms and proverbs. Neither fish, flesh, fowl, nor good red herring & something or somebody who does not belong to a definite group or known class' a strange person or thing' somebody or something odd or hard to understand (nici cal, nici magar, nici laie, nici balaie). %he three foods are metonyms for those things suitable to each of a *edi+val society,s classes of people' fish represents the clergy, flesh represents commoners, whilst red herring represents paupers' the three classes are simplistically regarded as exhaustive. For example- %he piece of furniture I bought is neither fish, flesh, fowl, nor good red herring' it is both a table and chair. Take something with a grain of salt& .$ith a grain of salt,/ which means to view something lightly or with skepticism, is perhaps the most common phrase of all 0 but has its roots from a long, long time ago. 1pparently the phrase dates back to "liny the Elder (yes, it,s %21% old), and was used in the text, 3aturalis 2istoria. In 3aturalis 2istoria, an antidote to a poison is detailed at length 0 and one of those ingredients is a grain of salt. 4ou could cautiously protect yourself against poison and .in#urious effects/ by taking a grain of salt every day 0 hence the phrase. For example- I've read the article, which I take with a grain of salt.

Piping Hot& 5ery hot, usually referring to food. %he expression has been around since the late medieval times, and refers to .the steam that shot out of a spouted tea kettle, a device in use at least since ancient *esopotamia./ 6asically, .piping/ hot means .boiling/ hot. For exemple- 7n a cold day, I like to eat piping hot soup. 6e careful8 %his coffee is piping hot8 Bring Home the Bacon& .6ring home the bacon/ is a phrase which is commonly used enough 0 and usually refers to being financially successful, particularly for one,s spouse or family. 6ut where exactly did this come from (and yes, we understand bacon is delicious, but why bacon9) $ell, it seems that in the :;th century, an English church promised .a side of bacon to any married man who could swear before the congregation and <od that he had not uarreled with his wife for a year and a day./ %hat,s no easy feat for sure, and that,s perhaps that why .bringing home the bacon/ is held in such high regard. 6ut other sources say that the phrase was actually coined in the early ;=th century, and was related to >. boxing. For exemple- If ?o's going to be at home looking after the kids, someone needs to bring home the bacon. Big Cheese& 2ow did the /big cheese/ become the .big cheese9/ $hat does a dairy product have to do with being a high!ranking hotshot or self!important person at the top9 It seems that the origins of the negative phrase first came from a positive one. 1fter all, .he,s the cheese/ was first a compliment meaning .first rate/ (ah, so 6ritish8), but it soon became negative @ when .big/ began to describe a person of .more than common importance./ Some say it perhaps echoed .bigwig./ For example- 1pparently her father is a big cheese in one of the ma#or banks. Cold Turkey& describes the actions of a person who abruptly gives up a habit or addiction rather than gradually easing the process through gradual reduction or by using replacement medication. 1 narrowing of the meaning Asuddenly or without preparation,A from cold turkey being a dish that re uires little preparation' originally used for heroin addicts. For example- She gave up her drinking habit cold turkey and had no ill effects.

1lthough it has been really hard, i have been really good about the no drinking thing ! #ust stopped cold turkey. Cream of the crop If something or someone is in the cream of the crop, they are among the best of a class of things or people. "ick of the crop was around by :BC:. Dream of the crop turns up about E= years later, presumably via con#unction with French creme de la creme. %here is an earlier expression, crFme de la crFme (often spelled creme de la creme), which is a borrowing from French (where it means, literally, cream of the cream). In both languages, the expression means metaphorically the best of the best, i.e. the very best. For example- %he cream of the crop of this year's high!school graduates will get into the best universities, as usual. $e're only interested in the cream of the crop, so don't send us any second!rate samples. Ha!e egg on one"s face %o be caught out or embarrassed. I know of two suggestions for where it came from. %he late ?ohn Diardi suggested an origin in the lower!class and more rowdy kind of theatrical performance, in which an incompetent actor would have been pelted with eggs and forced off the stage. %he other is that it was a comment on a minor social gaffe at a meal, when poor manners or sloppy eating left egg around your mouth. For example- A2e ended up with egg on his face, when she found out he had been lying.A Nutty as a fruitcake %o be slightly craGy. %his expression originated in 1merica in the :H;=s. A3uttyA was slang for craGy' a nut was an eccentric person. Fruitcakes are made with plenty of nuts For example- A"eople say I'm as nutty as a fruitcake to run this website.A #gg .... on %o urge someone to do something (usually negative). Strangely enough, the origin of the phrase has nothing whatsoever to do with eggs8 Instead it comes from the ancient 1nglo!Saxon tongue, where the term eggian meant to spur on (as in AeggianA your horse8) %he 7ld 3orse tongue had a similar term with a similar meaning. Egg#a meant Ato inciteA. $hen the terms drifted into the English language, they were transformed into the English phrase Ato egg onA !! literally to spur or incite someone to do something8

For example- 2e was always in trouble at school, his class mates always egged him on. To ha!e $igger fish to fry& %o have more important things to do. .6igger fish to fry/ is a collo uial expression in 1merican or 6ritish English that generally means someone has more important things to do than what is currently being done or proposed by someone.%he origin of the phrase .bigger fish to fry/ and its related idioms is lost to anti uity, but it is a well!known phrase in both Irish and 6ritish culture. %he first known reference of it in writing, when it was likely already widespread, was in %he *emoirs, written by English writer and gardener ?ohn Evelyn in :II=. %he *emoirs was a collection of diaries in which Evelyn discussed the culture and politics of his day. For example- 2e couldn't stay long, with this merger he has bigger fish to fry. %ou can"t ha!e your cake and eat it &too' is a popular English idiomatic proverb or

figure of speech. %he proverb literally means Ayou cannot both possess your cake and eat itA, Ayou cannot eat the cake and keep itA or Ayou can't eat the cake and have it stillA. It can be used to say that one cannot or should not have or want more than one deserves or can handle, or that one cannot or should not try to have two incompatible things. %he proverb's meaning is similar to the phrases Ayou can't have it both waysA and Ayou can't have the best of both worlds.A Donversely, in the positive sense, it refers to Ahaving it both waysA or Ahaving the best of both worlds.A (oose is cooked& a person is in trouble (such as overwhelming debt or other problems) that can,t be escaped. %he term .gone goose,/ meaning .beyond all hope,/ has been cited in print since at least :BE=. %he .goose/ in .gone goose/ was probably added for alliteration. .2is goose is cooked/ has been cited in print since at least :BJC and might be a variant of .gone goose./ For example- If I get caught, my goose is cooked. To sa!e one"s $acon& escape from in#ury' avoid harm, especially to one's body6y bacon, we now normally mean the cured and dried meat taken from the back or sides of a pig. %o the mediaeval mind, 'bacon' was meat from anywhere on the body of the animal ! more akin to what we now call pork. %his was the origin of the slang term 'bacon' meaning the human body. 'Saving your bacon' was simply saving your body from harm. %he expression was used that way as early as the :Kth century as, for example, this extract from Ireland's *omus Elenticus, :ICJ

For exemple- 4ou saved my bacon there. I'd probably have lost my #ob if you hadn't been ready with an explanation. To cry o!er spilt milk& 6eing upset over something that has already happened and cannot be changed. Lsually this phrase is said as Ait's no use crying over spilt milk,A which means that getting upset over certain things, like spilled milk, is not going to fix it.& *ortul de la groapa nu se mai intoarce. For example- *y kids were upset because they had burnt their toast, but I told them that it's no use crying over spilt milk and to #ust make some more. It smells fishy & something that is suspicious. 2is explanation definitely smells fishy' my guess is that he's lying . %his idiom alludes to the fact that fresh fish have no odor but stale or rotten ones do. For example- 2e wants to do all the housework for you9 %hat smells fishy to me8 Hard nut to crack describes a person who is difficult to understand, or a problem that is hard to solve. %he origin is from the actual process of opening a nutshell, which often re uires a special tool or substantial force to accomplish For example- ?ohn is a hard nut to crack, but I finally learned how to motivate him @ with food and drink. %his bridge pro#ect has been a hard nut to crack, but we have now been successful in ac uiring the land we need to get started on it. Mately our son has been a hard nut to crack @ he broke up with his girlfriend, his grades are getting worse, and he won't talk to us. #!erything from soup to nuts (DlichN) almost everything one can think of. In the past,

when people still did such extravagant things as getting dressed up to go to the theatre, dinners could have a number of courses. %he first course was traditionally soup' the meal could then run through any variety of goodies, such as oysters, fish, roasts, game, and dessert, and would finish with a serving of nuts. Soup to nuts, therefore, means 'from beginning to end' inclusive of everything' in the same way as from 1 to O or running the gamut (which originally referred to the

range of notes in the musical scale).%he phrase from soup to nuts is first found in the early twentieth century in 1merica. For example- For dinner we had everything from soup to nuts. In college I studied everything from soup to nuts. )ettle of fish mean a muddle or awkward state of affairs. 6eing English, I have a close association with kettles' essential e uipment for a custom in which the English can still claim world dominance, the making of 'a nice cup of tea'. 1s you may have realised, the expression 'a kettle of fish' doesn't refer to tea!kettles but to the long saucepans that have been used for centuries to poach whole salmon, namely fish!kettles. For example- %he new proposal is uite a different kettle of fish from the last one. )now your onions %o be experienced in or knowledgeable about a sub#ect. S.<. 7nions created fake coins to help school children learn pounds, shilling, and pence. %hey would say things like AJ Farthings make : "enny.A %his would be like many 1merican schools now have fake coins and on a dime there might be an inscription that says A; 3ickels make : Pime.A "eople think that when a child learned the coins, somebody could say you Aknow your onions,A to the child. 2owever, the phrase is 1merican in origin, not 6ritish. %here is also no link to a human with the creation of the phrase. Some think that it meant gardeners knew the onions well and thus people would say that they knew their onions and the phrase came from that referring to other things. For example- %hat car salesman certainly knew his onions, didn't he9 * $utter+and+egg man a wealthy man usually from a small town, who comes to a big city and spends a lot of money, especially on having a good time (om care se #oaca cu banii' bogatas cheltuitor in special dintr!un orasel de provincie si caruia ii place sa petreaca prin marile orase). For example- 7n weekends, 3ew 4ork Dity night clubs are full of butter!and!egg men from East 7range, 3ewark or wherever. Be up a gum tree (6ritish Q 1ustralian old!fashioned), $e up a tree (1merican old!

fashioned)& to be in a very difficult situation.%he phrase originated as 'like a possum up a gum tree' and interpretations of this account for the variety of meaning. %he allusion is to possums escaping up trees after being chased by hounds. Pepending on one's point of view the possum could be said to be either in difficulty as it couldn't escape, relaxing contentedly because the hounds couldn't catch it ! either way it would probably have shown a good turn of speed up the tree in the first place. <um tree is the common name for the Eucalyptus in 1ustralia and the 6lack <um or %upelo in 3orth 1merica. For example- If the insurance company won't pay for the damage, I'll be up a gum tree. That"s the way the cookie crum$les. (6ritish, 1merican Q 1ustralian informal), That"s the way the $all $ounces. (1merican informal)& something that you say which means that bad things sometimes happen and there is nothing you can do to prevent it, so it is not worth becoming upset about it. %hat's life. For example- I can't believe they chose Sam for the #ob and not me. 1h well, that's the way the cookie crumbles. I should coco 6ritish phrase originating from the E='s. Rhyming slang for I should think so or I should say so. Lsed sarcastically so the literal translation is I should think not. 1lso spelled I should co!co and I should cocoa. For example- 1- %he boss said you will be singing at the Dhristmas party. 6- 7h I should coco8 To $ring sugar in one,s spade be prepared to practice bribery (a fi excesiv de amabil pentru a!si atinge scopul' fa!te frate cu dracul pana treci puntea) For example- $hen you seek to get a room at a hotel, the only thing you have to do is #ust bring sugar in your spade. Ca!iar to the general something considered to be too good or valuable for ordinary

people to like or understand (in this phrase general means Sthe general publicS or Sordinary peopleS) (a strica orGul pe gaste sau sofran pentru taran).

For example- %he poet cosidered that many of his poems were #ust caviar to the general. Donclusion %he current paper does not claim to present an exhaustive list of food idioms and proverbs since such research is in the scope of work of a whole dictionary. 2owever, given the fact that the research is based on a number of authoritative dictionaries, as far as the above keywords are concerned, it constitutes uite a comprehensive analysis. It is hoped that this specialiGed list, on the one hand, would help learners of English enrich their vocabulary, and on the other hand, could serve as a basis for specialiGed exercises, dedicated to idiomatic and proverbial lexis, and food idioms and proverbs in particular. http-..food$east.com./01/.11./2.chew3on3this3103food3idioms3e4plained. http-TTwww.hltmag.co.ukTaug::Tidea.htm
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=I%20should%20coco %rofin, 1urel, Dicionar englez-romn, expresii idiomatice i locuiuni, Editura UtiinVificW, 6ucureXti, :HHI,

P567#5B8 %he theme of food and drinks are very common in proverbs and folklore across all cultures. *ost of this words of wisdom passed through generations as proverbs contain descriptions about food, drinks and wild!life. %hese food idioms survived the test of time and still alive in far corners of the world and they expressed different aspect of life in a methaforical way, includig gastronomy. Better are small fish than an empty dish. = *ai bine puVin decYt deloc. Dine nu poate avea mult se muVumeXte cu puVin. 9ry $read at home is $etter than roast meat a$road .& Fie pYinea cYt de rea, tot mai bunW!n Vara mea. (od gi!es the milk, $ut not the pail. PumneGeu dW, dar nu!Vi bagW Xi!n traistW. 6ne man"s meat is another man"s poisons.& "entru unii miere, pentru alVii fiere. "entru unul mumW, pentru altul ciumW.

Praise is no pudding. Mauda nu Vine de foame. * full stomach ne!er thinks of an empty one.& SWtulul nu crede pe cel flWmYnd. 8tolen fruit is the sweetest. %hings that you must not have or do are always the most

desirable.& Fructul interGis este mai bun. 9on,t scald your lips in another man pottage. 3u!Vi bWga nasul unde nu!Vi fiebe oala. :an"s life is like an egg in the hands of a child.& 5iata omului este ca oul in mainile copilului. 8tolen sweets are the sweetest.& *erele din grWdina vecinului sunt Zntotdeauna mai dulci. Ne!er pull the eggs in one $acket.& 3u!Vi ingropa banii sub acelaXi copac. 3u te baGa niciodatW pe o singurW soluVie. (i!e a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.& PW!i unui om un pete i Zl vei hrWni pentru o Gi' ZnvaW!l sW pescuiasca i Zl vei hrWni pentru tot restul vieii. :an cannot li!e $y $read alone. [7mul nu trWieXte numai cu pYine, ci cu orice cuvYnt care iese din gura lui PumneGeu./ (*atei J-J)