Idiomatic English

Idioms, proverbs, sayings, similes and other specific features make speech very colourful. As with all idiomatic expressions, they are useful and enjoyable to know and understand, but should be used with care. English learners are usually recommended to keep idiomatic expres­sions as part of their receptive vocabulary.

Idioms are fixed expressions with meanings that are usually not clear or obvious. The individual words often give no help in deciding the meaning. For example, the expression to feel under the weather, which means to feel unwell', is a typical idiom. The words do not tell us the meaning, but the context usually helps.

As to proverbs, speakers tend to use some to comment on a situation, of­ten at the end of a true story someone has told, or in response to some event.

Similes are less colourful than proverbs and in many cases they express a certain sort of advice in a peculiar way, e.g.:

Never say no.

If you do not know what to do, do nothing.

Don't ask me questions and I won't tell you lies.

Similes are usually informal, colloquial and often humorous phrases. Similes are usually used to make some emotional or funny comparisons.

e.g. The bed was as hard as iron and I couldn't sleep.

If you see the phrase as dead as a doornail, you don't need to know what a doornail is, the whole phrase simply means totally dead. Creating a picture in your mind can often help you remember the simile:

as blind as a bat

as thin as a rake

as strong as an ox

as quiet as a mouse

Some can be remembered as pairs of opposites:

e.g. as heavy as lead as white as snow

as light as a feather as black as night

as sober as a judge as drunk as a lord

Some can be remembered by sound pattern:

e.g. as brown as a berry as good as gold as cool as a cucumber

American English

English in the USA differs considerably from British English. Pronun­ciation is the most striking difference but there are also a number of differences in vocabulary and spelling as well as slight differences in Grammar. On the whole, British people are exposed to a lot of Ameri­can English on TV, in films and so on and so they will usually under­stand most American vocabulary.

American spelling is usually simpler. For example, British English words ending in -re and -our, end in -er and -or in American English. theatre/theater, colour/color

The American spelling usually tries to correspond more closely to pronunciation.

Here are some common US words with their British equivalents:

Am. English	Br. English		Am.English Br.English
gasoline	petrol		apartment flat
truck	lorry		closet wardrobe
baggage	luggage		yard garden
vacation	holiday		cookie biscuit
cab	taxi		candies sweets
freeway	motorway		panti-hose tights
line	queue		drapes curtains
blow-out	puncture		faucet tap
trunk	boot		eraser rubber
fall	autumn		semester term
Here are some words and phrases which can cause confusion be-
cause they mean something different in each language:
words		for an American		for an Englishman
bill		banknote		check (in a restaurant...)
the first floor		the ground floor		the second floor
pants		trousers		underpants
potato chips		potato crisps		french fries
purse		handbag		wallet
subway		underground railway		underpass