Welcome to English Idioms 2009/2010
Here you’ll find some of the English idioms and their origins.
Idioms 2008 archive: Archiwum - Idiom of the...
Fit as a fiddle
Meaning: to be very healthy and strong
Origin: The 'fiddle' here is the colloquial name for violin. 'Fit' didn't originally refer to one's state of health and well-being, as we nowadays describe most gym-goers. When this phrase was coined, that is at the beginning of the 17th century, the word 'fit' was used to mean 'suitable' or 'appropriate', in the way we now tend to say 'fit for purpose.'
Example: My grandmother's 89, but she's as fit as a fiddle.
Powers that be
Meaning: important people who have authority over others
Origin: The phrase comes from the Bible, Romans 13:1: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: The powers that be are ordained of God."
Example: It's up to the powers that be to decide what should be done next.
Ace in the hole (also: ace up your sleeve)
Meaning: secret knowledge or a secret skill which will give you an advantage
Origin: In poker, when a card is dealt face down it is referred to as a hole. An ace is the most wanted card to have in this position since it is hidden from other players.
Example: It seems that she'll lose the election but I think she may have an ace up her sleeve.
Lock, stock and barrel
Meaning: including all or every part of something
Origin: Originally, the phrase referred to the parts of a musket - the barrel, the lock (the firing mechanism) and the stock (the wooden end).
Example: We had to move our things lock, stock and barrel to the other side of the country.
Wet behind the ears
Meaning: young and without experience; naive
Example: He's just finished high school, so he's still wet behind the ears.
Origin: This phrase ia an allusion to a newborn baby, so recently born that s/he is still wet.
Blue-blooded
Meaning: someone who has been born into a family which belongs to the highest social class
Example: They're young, fabulously wealthy and have blue blood coursing through their veins - meet the "20 Hottest Young Royals" in the world!
Origin: A translation of the Spanish 'sangre azul', attributed to some of the proudest families of Castile, who claimed never to have intermarried with other races. The expression probably comes from the the blueness of the veins of people of fair complexion as compared with those of dark skin.
Let the cat out of the bag
Meaning: disclose a secret, especially by accident
Example: I was trying to keep the party a secret, but Mel went and let the cat out of the bag.
Origin: One possible origin of this phrase relates to the fraud of substituting a cat for a pig at markets. If you let the cat out of the bag, it was clear that you were playing a trick.
Dead ringer
Meaning: someone or something which looks very similar to someone or something else
Example: He's a dead ringer for Bono from U2 when they go on tour.
Origin: A 'dead ringer' was a look-alike horse that was substituted for a race horse in order to defraud bookies.
Take sth with a pinch of salt (US: take sth with a grain of salt)
Meaning: to not completely believe something that you are told
Example: You have to take everything she says with a pinch of salt, she does tend to exaggerate.
Origin: The idea comes from the fact that food seems easier to swallow if taken with a small amount of salt.
In your mind's eye
Meaning: in your imagination or memory
Example: In my mind's eye, she remains a little girl of six although she's actually a grown woman.
Origin: The phrase is thought to have come from Shakespeare, who uses it "Hamlet" (1603). There is a scene where Hamlet is recalling his father and sees him "in his mind's eye". But the first recorded use of this expression is much older. It dates back to at least the 14th century, when Chaucer used it in "The Man of Law's Tale."
"It were with thilke eyen of his mynde, With whiche men seen, after that they been blynde."
Yes, this is the original spelling :).
Blow smoke (American English)
Meaning: waste time talking to no effect or boast not being able to back it up (American English)
Example: Are you really going to buy this Porsche or are you just blowing smoke?
Origin: Magicians often use smoke in their performance to obscure your view. In a similar way, a person who is "blowing smoke" is tricking you and attempting to hide it.
High time
Meaning: If it is high time that someone did something, it should have been done sooner or a long time ago.
Example:It is high time for Europe to take responsibility for its own defence.
Origin: The phrase comes from a Bible passage, which reads like this in the King James Version (1611): And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. (Romans 13, 11)
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Idiom of the Week 
