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

recap

In which I explain my car accident and the micro break I am taking...

http://tinyurl.com/d6rxng

Idioms and Idiomatic expressions

Beware Greeks Bearing gifts
Meaning
Don't trust your enemies.
Origin
An allusion to the story of the wooden horse of Troy, used by the Greeks to trick their way into the city. It is recorded in Virgil's Aeneid, Book 2, 19 BC:
"Do not trust the horse, Trojans. Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts."
Of course that English version is a translation. Another translation, by John Dryden, has "Trust not their presents, nor admit the horse."
The same thought was also recorded by Sophocles (496 - 406 BC), in Ajax:
Nought from the Greeks towards me hath sped well.
So now I find that ancient proverb true,
Foes' gifts are no gifts: profit bring they none.
The Classics are no longer widely taught or read, so this phrase is now little used, although it was resurrected in a sideways reference during a 1990s copyright dispute. There was considerable discussion then,in Internet chat rooms etc., regarding the company Compuserve, who owned the copyright to the GIF image format, and their possible intentions to restrict its use. Some people feared that they might be taken to law by Compuserve if they received and viewed GIF images without permission. The phrase "beware of geeks bearing gifs" was coined to sum that up.


There - isn't that fun? I love when I find a really thurough explanation of a phrase. So , how would I sign it? CAREFUL. Then I would set up a person on the non dominant side, sign (topic) AGAINST-ME (comment) TRUST NOT.

What do you think?

Thanks to The Phrase Finder for such a great explanation!

Idioms and Idiomatic expressions

Years ago I did an e-zine with a tip for improving interpreting, idiom, and suggested resource of the week. It had 52 entries, and was pretty popular for its time. I eventually gave up because it was so hard to keep coming up with every week. I put it together as a cd so if you want the whole thing sometime, just email me and ask for "tips and tricks". It is in html format so you can read it in any browser. This version has no video, although eventually we might redo it with suggested ways to sign the idioms.

What made me think of it? I was sitting in class today as an instructor spoke of greek mythology and "Achilles' Heel" came to mind:

Achilles Heel:
The one weak spot in an otherwise strong character or position. In Greek Mythology, Achilles was the most powerful of all the greek fighters at Troy. His mother was immortal and tried to pass that on to her son by dipping him into the River Styx (the sacred river by which all the gods swore). Where she held him by the heel was the only place not invulnerable and ultimately the source of the wound that killed him.
"She is quite a distance runner, but sprints are her achilles' heel."

I guess you can see I suggest WEAK as the sign. It doesn't seem to have as much color, but then there are ASL phrases that we don't do justice to as well.


Turn about is fair play. Proverb
It is fair for one to suffer whatever one has caused others to suffer.
So, you don't like being made fun of! Well, turnabout is fair play.

Again, one of those phrases that have one sign as a semantic equivalent (EQUAL) although, even with grammar markers and emphasis it seems to lack a little color.

Any other suggestions?

Both signs are available at the ASL Browser .