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Discussion Groups / ESL Teaching / September 2004english idioms connected with animals
i looking for information about english idioms connected with animals ORGIN. > i looking for information about english idioms connected with animals > ORGIN. What do you want to know? And you might as well tell us why as well. This is potentially a vast field so it would be helpful to have some guidelines. Regards, Einde O'Callaghan Dnia Tue, 28 Sep 2004 20:53:08 +0200, Einde O'Callaghan napisał(a): >> i looking for information about english idioms connected with animals >> ORGIN. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Regards, Einde O'Callaghan thx as I wrote, I looking for information about: eg. why "badger someone" = "get someone to do something by repeated questions or by bothering them" or "cash cow" = " a good way to make money" or "piggyback" = " sitting or being carried on someone`s back and shoulders" and so on..... I live in Poland and we have 'idioms' too but all of them have somethig like their orgin or history. sometimes it's a fable, sometimes it's a real part of our history or tradition. I thing that in English language is similarly. So I decided write essay about english idioms. I like biology and animals so animal idioms are great subject for me :). So I looking for (e)books, web sites or any scientific publications about it... ------ ATARI 4EVER > Dnia Tue, 28 Sep 2004 20:53:08 +0200, Einde O'Callaghan napisał(a): > [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > ------ > ATARI 4EVER Like Einde says, Havoc, there's a lot to choose from. You could start with a monolingual dictionary and try looking up every animal you can think of and seeing if the defintion includes a idiom to go with it. Here's some alphabetic ideas for you to check:- Bird brain Cat nap, crocodile tears Dog tired Elephants never forget (proverb) foxy (adj) Gopher/gofer hawk eyed Right, I'm out of ideas, but that's a start. Cheers DC > Dnia Tue, 28 Sep 2004 20:53:08 +0200, Einde O'Callaghan napisa³(a): > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > animal idioms are great subject for me :). So I looking for (e)books, web > sites or any scientific publications about it... This is as I said a vast area. In some cases it's quite easy to find the reference in literature, fable, legend, the bible etc. But in many cases it's not so easy, because the source is now obscure or is rooted in observations about nature that are no longer available to people living in cities. For example, I believe that the phrase "to badger someone" referes to the way that badgers when attacked defend themselves - they bite the attacker and refuse to let go until the bone in the body part bitten snaps, i.e. they keep at it until they achieve their objective. The phrase "cash cow" comes from the way we milk cows for the food value of milk. we also use the phrase "to milk someone" when we repeatedly gain information or money from them. I this case the meaning of "cash cow2 should be obvious. Where "piggyback" originates I've no idea. It might be best if you chose a number of animal idioms and asked if anybody can explain where they come from. Regards, Einde O'Callaghan >> Dnia Tue, 28 Sep 2004 20:53:08 +0200, Einde O'Callaghan napisa³(a): >> [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] > gain information or money from them. I this case the meaning of "cash > cow2 should be obvious. In fact it comes from marketing. Marketing folk enjoy drawing a square on the white board and explaining the 'product lifecycle'. New products cost time and money to develop and market. As they become established they begin to turn a profit. They then become cash cows, which in turn finance development of the next generation of new products. Which then become cash cows... DC, too long teaching Business ESP >>> Dnia Tue, 28 Sep 2004 20:53:08 +0200, Einde O'Callaghan napisa³(a): >>> [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > finance development of the next generation of new products. Which then > become cash cows... Nevertheless the image has its origins in agriculture via the transferred image of "milking". I wasn't necessarily trying to talk about who coined the image, rather how the image probably derived. Not having access to the OED I can't definitely say that this is the route (and root) of derivation, but it seems plausible to me. Regards, Einde O'Callaghan >>>> Dnia Tue, 28 Sep 2004 20:53:08 +0200, Einde O'Callaghan napisa³(a): >>>> [quoted text clipped - 57 lines] > > Regards, Einde O'Callaghan Yeah, right. Cows get milked. |
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