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Paul Sparks - Online English Lesson Plans, Lesson Material and Ideas for Oral English Lessons, Hunan University of Science and Technology...

ORAL ENGLISH: Idioms

Idiom: A phrase of two or more words that means something different from the literal meaning of the individual words. Idioms and Proverbs are both sayings or expressions, however they are different:

• Idioms: e.g. "Raining Cats and Dogs" - Doesn't really mean cats and dogs, actually means heavy rain. Idioms are used mainly in spoken English.
  

• Proverbs: e.g. "Look Before You Leap" - Normally give advice or tell a truth about life. Proverbs are used mainly in written English.

Idioms often compare things, they use similes and metaphors to make a comparison:

• Similes: e.g. "She Eats Like a Bird" - Comparison using "Like" or "As".
  

• Metaphors e.g. "Her Smile is Pure Sunshine" - Comparison without "Like" or "As".

For Examples of Common Idioms See www.paulnoll.com/China/Teach/English-idioms-01.html

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