Handbook of American Idioms and Idiomatic Usage [antikvár]

Experienced teachers of English have long recognized the importance of the idiom in introducing color and adding grace and precision to speech and writing. People the world over who are studying English as a second language do not find it easy to use idiomatic expressions fluently. Even those well trained in English are often puzzled by the idiomatic structure of the language. And if they steer clear of idiomatic usage, their speech and writing tend to become formai and stilted. To meet this situation the authors offer this handbook which covers idiomatic usage of the American language. More than 4,500 of the most common idiomatic phrases and constructions of the American language are here included. Each idiom is defined, and its use illustrated in a sentence. No effort has been spared to make the book as practical as possible. Thus, particular stress has been given to the basic idiomatic constructions deriving from such common verbs as bring, take, go, come, get, do, let, leave, make, put, find, etc. Specialized or esoteric phrases, which are often color ful, but have a low frequency, have not been included. Slang expressions have been treated only when such terms have become firmly established in the language. The intention at all times has been to make the book a working manual and a textbook for advanced students of American English. As a work of reference, it is hoped that this handbook may serve all those, both here and in foreign countries, who need definition and explanation of the idiomatic phrases they come across in their reading, or in the daily conversation heard on the streets of American cities, in American motion pictures, or in current literature. Students of language are no doubt aware of the diíferent words used to describe similar things in England and the United States. For example, English petrol for American gasoline; cinema for movie; tram for street car, etc. In the case of idiomatic usage, the diíference is even greater and much more subtle. Thus, a phrase like to put one's foot into it, meaning to commit a social blunder, is expressed in England by the phrase to drop a brick, which would not be generally understood in the United States. This book therefore should prove useful to scholars and to the many Europeans educated on English terminology, who are often at a loss to understand strictly "American" English.