British idioms

I remember this veeeeery bad joke which was in British Alas Smith and Jones television series:



"The exam was a piece of cake...

...which was fairly odd since I was expecting a piece of paper."



I know, very baaaaad!

:)
 
Personally I like the cake gag

Cold feet was also a name of a British sitcom a few years ago featuring various individuals unwilling to "commit"

Another one I love that I have only just remembered is "back to square one". It means starting again but comes from the pre-TV days of football commentary. Back then the (radio) commentator would have the pitch marked up with a 9 square grid, 1-3 at the bottom, 4-6 across the middle, 7-9 across the top. So if the team passed it back to the defenders they passed it "back to square 1".

Another good sport one - going for an early bath (finishing early/prematurely in negative circumstances, from being sent off in a sports match and therefore getting to the baths first!!)
 
I never uderstood the "you want to have your cake and eat it too" one, for what other reason would one want "their cake" ? To watch it go stale ?

Interesting bit about square one, I suppose it also applied to various board games.
 
cup of tea, float yer boat, bath yer dodger, dazzle the bobby, pull yer wedgy

Ok, I'll go away now
 
is that English-language idiom Tourettes?

I think the cake one is actually a reversed idiom - that once eaten you can't still possess the cake. That is, a good thing, once consumed or used, is no longer available to be prized. A similar one would be "you can't have it both ways"

I'm off to dazzle a bobby!!!!!!!!!
 
razoredge said:
Interesting bit about square one, I suppose it also applied to various board games.
Click to expand...

It is used in Dream Theater's Take The Time ("it's time to pick up the pieces, go back to square one"), I thought it referred to the goose board game - you are usually sent back to the start!

BurningDownTheMiddle said:
I think the cake one is actually a reversed idiom - that once eaten you can't still possess the cake. That is, a good thing, once consumed or used, is no longer available to be prized. A similar one would be "you can't have it both ways"
Click to expand...

We have similiar one in italian, sound like: "you can't have your wife drunk and the bottle full" :D
 
LavagesOfTime said:
It is used in Dream Theater's Take The Time ("it's time to pick up the pieces, go back to square one"), I thought it referred to the goose board game - you are usually sent back to the start!



We have similiar one in italian, sound like: "you can't have your wife drunk and the bottle full" :D
Click to expand...

Friggin LOVE it....... :headbang:

It's going into use in my world !
 
forgottenglory said:
Pity the Italian wives!
Click to expand...

Pity the Italian grooms who were chased down as they ran with their cold feet, snagged in a sticky wicket, hogtied and returned to meet their fate of playing gooseberry with the bedazzled bobby from whom they fled, into a shotgun union as her father declared "he shall not cause my daughter to get her panties in a bunch"...when he really meant "get her the hell out of my hair"....

as the sun rises and sets my friends !
 
Another fave of mine, probably not a proper idiom: "you got less chances than a one-legged man in a kick-ass contest" :D

Some more common idioms:
- it rings a bell => this reminds me something
- it's my bread and butter => it's something I know how to treat
- Stop beating about the bush => err, help! How would you explain this? Stop dicking around? :D
- To be on cloud nine => to be very happy
- To call it a day => to give up
- To go to the dogs => to be riuned (not sure it is the EXACT translation)
- As fit as a fiddle => in a pretty good shape
- I stick to my guns => I won't change my mind
- Draw the line = > to set a limit
- To put it in a nutshell => to sum up
- A pain in the neck (or ass) => is something/someone very tedious
- Hit the road => start a trip
- Pull yourself together => stay calm, don't let your feelings contro you (what a crappy translation, ahah)
 
In the states "my bread and butter" is how one makes their income, to pay their bills and feed themselves, put bread and butter on the table
we say "stop beating around the bush" - going in circles, undecisive, not relaying ones intended purpose
cloud nine - dizzy, out there somewhere in space, floating around, blissful ignorance
pain in the neck - not necessarily tedious because it could be someone on cloud nine who lacks any form of tediousness
hit the road - usually means get out of here, dont let the door slam you in the ass. When talking about oneself it means "Im leaving", not necessarily on a "trip". "Make like a baby and head out"
 
razoredge said:
Pity the Italian grooms who were chased down as they ran with their cold feet, snagged in a sticky wicket, hogtied and returned to meet their fate of playing gooseberry with the bedazzled bobby from whom they fled, into a shotgun union as her father declared "he shall not cause my daughter to get her panties in a bunch"...when he really meant "get her the hell out of my hair"....

as the sun rises and sets my friends !
Click to expand...

This has to be the Dream Theater of idioms! :)
 
Normally it's just bread getting put on the table - the bread and butter would be the core part of a role, the part that is relied upon. So a photographers bread and butter could be doing weddings and other events whilst he might do the odd gig shoot!

Here you can beat both about and around the bush! It is often used to someone speaking but not getting to the point. I think it might be a reference to game beating

Here cloud 9 (and other clouds!) depicts a high level of happiness

For going to the dogs it could be used for a business that has deteriorated - since he took over the restaurant it's gone to the dogs.

Hit the road can also be as simple as let's go (let's hit the road) in informal settings but would normally suggest a trip

Pull yourself together would often be more of an admonishment or chastisement
 
"bustle in your hedgerow", was this penned by Zepp or in use round about ?

eitherway its classic

spring clean for the May queen

friggin classic !

to be a rock and not to roll

I was destined to be a proghead upon being totally slayed by this song
 
I have always loved "Don't get yer knickers in a knot".

"The exam was a piece of cake...

...which was fairly odd since I was expecting a piece of paper."
Click to expand...

Gods, I love that kind of humor! :)
 
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