In English language lessons at school, we studied the concept of idioms. Since then, only one of them has stuck in my memory - "curiosity killed the cat", which translates in context as “excessive curiosity can be dangerous and lead to negative consequences”.
By the way, we have an equivalent of this idiom: ”curious Varvara lost her nose”. In both cases, in the English and Ukrainian versions, the phrase sounds more like a proverb or folk wisdom. But that doesn’t prevent it from being an idiom.
So what exactly is an idiom, after all? You can guess from my example that it is a phrase that has a figurative or metaphorical meaning. That is, it is a special, specific expression. Like most such terms, “idiom” comes from the Greek language, where the word ἴδιος (ídios) means "characteristic, inherent to someone".
Interestingly, every language has its own idioms that make it richer and more expressive. It is probably easy to identify a native speaker by whether they use idioms in everyday communication or not. After all, it is indeed a tool that can reflect both cultural features or traditions and a person's way of thinking.
Idioms can be universal, like the aforementioned example. In different languages, they have the same or very similar meanings, but are expressed in different ways:
"Like two drops of water" ≈ "Like two peas in a pod" (Eng.), "Comme deux gouttes d'eau" (Fr.), "Wie ein Ei dem anderen" (Ger.)Meaning: very similar things or people. In the English version, they are compared to peas in a pod, in German – to eggs.
"A cat in a sack" ≈ "A pig in a poke" (Eng.), "Gato por liebre" (Sp.), "Sackgasse" (Ger.)Meaning: not knowing exactly what you are buying, a risky deal. In English, instead of a cat, they imagine a pig in a sack, while Spaniards buy a cat instead of a hare.
Idioms can also be unique to a particular culture or nationality. They carry meanings that are understood only by native speakers and have no equivalents in other languages. We have a vivid and interesting example: “where the crayfish winter. I wouldn’t want to hear that directed at me. Since the expression “to show where the crayfish winter” is used only in a negative connotation, when someone wants to teach someone a harsh lesson or take revenge. There are no identical idioms in other languages, especially with a reference to crayfish.
A purely Japanese idiom 猫に小判 – "to throw gold to a cat", which means "to give something valuable to someone who will not appreciate it" – also serves as an interesting example of cultural uniqueness and linguistic possibilities.
In my opinion, idioms are a very interesting tool for exploring language, traditions, and history. Such expressions form lively and rich communication in any language. Therefore, it is a pity that so little time was devoted to this topic in school. It is something on par with slang, but more eloquent and precise.
