In school English lessons, we studied such a concept as idioms. Since then, only one of them has clearly 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 analogue of this idiom: ”interesting Varvara's nose was torn off”. In both cases, both in the English and Ukrainian versions, the phrase rather sounds like a proverb or folk wisdom. But this does not prevent her from being an idiom.
So what is an idiom in the end? One can guess from my example that this is a phrase that is figurative or metaphorical in nature. That is, it is a special, specific expression. Like most such terms, “idiom” comes from Greek, where the word πδιος (ídios) means "proper, inherent in someone".
Interestingly, each language has its own idioms that make it richer and more expressive. It is probably easy to determine a native speaker by whether he uses idioms in everyday communication or not. After all, it is really a tool that can reflect both cultural features or traditions, as well as a person's way of thinking.
Idioms can be universal, as the above example. In different languages, they have the same or very similar meaning, but are expressed in other ways:
"Like two drops of water" ≈ "Like two peas in a pod" (English), "Comme deux gouttes d'eau" (French), "Wie ein Ei dem anderen" (German)Meaning: very similar things or people. In the English version, they are compared with peas in a pod, in the German version, they are compared with eggs.
"Puss in a bag" ≈ "A pig in a poke" (English), "Gato por liebre" (Spanish), "Sackgasse" (German)Meaning: Not knowing exactly what you're buying is a risky deal. In English, instead of a cat, a pig is imagined in a bag, and the Spaniards buy a cat instead of a hare.
Also, idioms can be unique to a certain culture or nationality. They will carry a meaning that is understandable only to native speakers and have no analogues in other languages. We have a vivid and interesting example: “where crayfish overwinter”. I would not like to hear this addressed to me. Because the expression “shows where crayfish overwinter” is used only in a negative connotation when they want to teach someone cruelly or take revenge. In other languages, there is no idiom identical in meaning, especially with a link to crayfish.
Purely Japanese idiom ⁇ vydu ⁇ – "throw gold to the cat"–, which means "giving something valuable to someone who doesn't appreciate it", also serves as an interesting example of the uniqueness of culture and speech capabilities.
In my opinion, idioms – is a very interesting tool for researching language, traditions and history. Such expressions form lively and rich communication in any language. It is therefore a pity that so little time was devoted to this subject at school. It's something on par with slang, but more eloquent and apt.
