I’m fascinated by the hundreds of clichés we use every day where the words utilized have nothing to do with the meaning of the expression. It’s amazing how clichés develop because reading or listening to the words never gives you a clue. Imagine someone from a foreign country, who’s learning English, reading these words while trying to figure out what they mean. We’ll talk more about this and related grammatical issues in the future. But for now, here are a few examples below. Please read the clichés and maybe you’ll understand why they are so fascinating to me.
Beat Around the Bush
Bite the Bullet
Blood Is Thicker Than Water
Bring Home the Bacon
Burning The Candle At Both Ends
Give Her the Cold Shoulder
Cut to the Chase
He was “Called on the Carpet”
The “Cat’s got your tongue”
Play it “Close to the Vest”
She “broke his heart”
We’re “holding his feet to the fire”
He has a “Green Thumb”
She’s making money “Hand Over Fist”
It’s a piece of cake
I’ve Been Around the Block a Few Times
Keep His Nose Clean
Keep Your Chin Up
Let the Cat Out of the Bag
Keep His “Nose to the Grindstone”
Push the Envelope
Money Talks
More Than One Way To Skin a Cat
Red Carpet Treatment
Red Tape
They “Tied the Knot”
The “other shoe dropped”
There are no silver bullets
Until the Cows Come Home
Watch Your Ps and Qs
Whole Ball of Wax
They Went “Belly Up”
Whole Nine Yards
Wild Goose Chase
He speaks with a forked tongue
Drop a Dime on him
This might “Open a Can of Worms”
Our CEO “Weighed In” on the issue
Our new employee needs to “get her feet wet”
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