Idioms and idiomatic expressions

Another form of idiomatic expression is the proverb or adage. These are statements used so often their origins may be lost are forgotten at least by the user.

An example? "Sour Grapes."

Many people will say just those two words to imply someone is a poor loser, has a bad attitude, is just pretending not to care about something previously valued.

And it all comes from an Aesop Fable:

One hot summer's day a Fox was strolling through an orchard till he came to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on a vine which had been trained over a lofty branch. "Just the thing to quench my thirst," quoth he. Drawing back a few paces, he took a run and a jump, and just missed the bunch. Turning round again with a One, Two, Three, he jumped up, but with no greater success. Again and again he tried after the tempting morsel, but at last had to give it up, and walked away with his nose in the air, saying: "I am sure they are sour."

It is easy to despise what you cannot get.

How would I sign it? I think of the word "envy". This fable does not include that someone else holds that which is unattainable, but I think most often when I hear the adage, it is in reference to soemthing another has possession of.

The sign ENVY is available at the ASL Browser.

ASL Poetry

In honor of my ASL class, which is covering ASL poetry, literature and music tonight, I bring you a google video hit list.

Most of these videos are in homage to the first performer, Clayton Valli, a premier linguist and poet.

Turn off your ears and stay awhile...

Idioms and Idiomatic Expressions

I've been discussing this topic with some colleagues recently. They wanted to know what I mean by "idiomatic expressions".

First off, an idiom is a phrase that means something differnt than the obvious. "You missed the boat" has nothing to do with rtravel, or boats. It has everything to do with impatience of one person to go back and fill in details another person missed.

Now let's talk about the ASL expression "TRAIN-GONE". I would also define this one as an idiom. The two signs clearly articulated are "TRAIN" and a sign sometimes glossed "ZOOM" (dominant handshape l to g as moving from non-dominant to dominant side along the back of two fingers). Yet the phrase means the same as :you missed the boat." It is not used to mean I've missed my connecting metro, it means I walked up in the middle of a conversation and that's just too bad for me.

So what do I mean by an idiomatic expression?

Let's use the commonly glossed ASL sign "COW-ON". It means "to take forever."

I went to renew my driver's license and the line went out the door - it took forever!"

True, it has nothing to do with COW, but the only real thing the expression has in common with COW is the start of the sign resembles the sign for COW from the same place near the forehead. So really, we tried to capture a concept in a non-native environment and instead claimed it was an idiom. If anything , it is a short form of the standard sign "FOREVER" which is a combination of ALWAYS and EVER.

So, anyway, that's my story and I am sticking to it.

(Signs available at the ASL Browser except the idiomatic "COW-ON" and idiom "TRAIN-GONE". I haven't found them on line yet.)

Idioms and Idiomatic expressions

This was a week for watching poker on television - mostly because my baseball team has disappointed me mightily.

I decided that meant we should discuss a couple of English Idioms that relate to card playing. The source is a personal collection.

According To Hoyle: Strictly by the rules, in the usual and correct way. One of the earliest and most popular companies to produce cards (and card games ) was Hoyle. They also published books which explained the rules of each card game.
"We will settle this dispute strictly according to Hoyle"


Ace In The Hole: Someone or something important that is kept as a surprise until the right time so as to bring a victory. From the card game "Black Jack", where to have an ace turned down so other gamblers cannot see it allows one with a ten to win the game without dispute.
"Little did my team know, our opponent still had an ace in the hole."


The first I would sign RULE FOLLOW with emphasis on FOLLOW (sign sharply).

The second I would sign SECRET HOLD.


All signs available at ASL Pro