English Idioms

The English language consists of many idioms. For purposes of this article, you can think of the word "idiom" as a word or expression whose meaning you cannot deduce from the meanings of the words that compose it. They are often confounding because everyone using these expressions seems to know what mean, but newcomers from other geographical areas or other countries find themselves scratching their heads in puzzlement and nodding a lot.

Fish for compliments

When you utter this expression, someone not in the know might suspect that it is time for a fishing trip at the lake. In fact, someone who fishes for compliments puts himself down in the hopes that a listener might compliment her by contradicting her. An example of this is as follows. Sally puts on a dress for a date, and, when her beau arrives she says "I didn't have time to shop for a new dress, so I had to wear this old, tired thing." Her date, ever quick on the draw, does not miss a beat by saying "Sally, you look lovely, and no new dress could possibly improve your look or the wonderful evening that awaits us." So Sally, in her veiled attempt at self-deprecation, really asks for a compliment and gets it. She has fished for a compliment and caught one.

Scratch the surface

No, the speaker does not have a skin condition and does not worry about the finish on his car or furniture. "Scratch the surface" means that you have little knowledge or familiarity with something. If you have just scratched the surface of an issue, it means that much more lies beneath, awaiting investigation.

This article has barely scratched the surface of the subject of idioms, but hopefully you get the general idea. Use idioms freely, but remain aware of your audience, and prepare to explain the meaning of idioms if you use them in gatherings of people from different geographical areas.