Idiom: id-ee-uh m
English idioms, sometimes called "figures of speech" are a group of words which have a meaning which isn’t obvious from looking at the individual words.
They have developed over time and so they might seem random to you. English idioms often rely on analogies and metaphors.
Because they’re used so often in everyday English, if you don’t know them, it’s almost impossible to understand the context.
For English learners in the classroom, practicing idioms is sometimes a welcome break from writing and grammar lessons. Reviewing idioms can also a fun way to generate pronunciation and conversation practice.
Here are a few meanings and origins that my students having enjoyed learning.
Raining Cats and Dogs- Odin, the Norse god of storms, was often pictured with dogs and wolves, which were symbols of wind. So “raining cats and dogs” may refer to a storm with wind (dogs) and heavy rain (cats).
- “Cats and dogs” may come from the Greek expression cata doxa, which means “contrary to experience or belief.” If it is raining cats and dogs, it is raining unusually or unbelievably hard.
- “Cats and dogs” may come from an old English word catadupe, which meant cataract or waterfall. A version of catadupe existed in many old languages. In Latin, for example, catadupa was borrowed from Greek and referred to the cataracts of the Nile River. So, to say it’s raining “cats and dogs” might be to say it’s raining waterfalls.
A possibly false theory stated that cats and dogs used to escape predators by sleeping on thatch roofs at night and then be washed out during heavy rains. However, a properly maintained thatch roof is naturally water resistant and slanted to allow water to run off. In order to slip off the roof, the animals would have to be lying on the outside—an unlikely place for an animal to seek shelter during a storm.
Offer an Olive Branch
Extending an olive branch means offering to make peace with someone, to bring a conflict, either national or personal, to a conclusion.
Origin of Extending an an Olive Branch: Many "Western" idioms come straight from the Bible, and the one referencing a familiar Genesis tale remains one of the most popular and easily recognizable. When Noah allegedly sent a dove to check for dry land, she eventually returned with a sprig from an olive tree. The association with the cross-cultural avian symbol of peace imbued the plant with an identical association.
Hit the Hay or Hit the Sack
Before people went to bed, they would literally 'hit the hay' to make the mattress more comfortable and to make sure there were no bugs inside. The expression 'hit the sack' is thought to have originated from the sack that was stuffed with hay.
The term ‘hit the hay’ is believed to have originated in 1903, when The Oakland Tribune reported that “Sam Berger, the Olympic heavyweight…was sleepy and he announced that ‘he was going to hit the hay.’"