italki - Help with some Idioms? I was going over an old book of mine when I came across the following express

Katrine

Help with some Idioms? I was going over an old book of mine when I came across the following expressions: - To feather one`s nest - To pay through the nose - To make a mountain out of a molehill - To strike while the iron is hot - To drink like a fish - To be a wet blanket - To ride the big horse - To paddle one`s own cause - To blow one`s own trumpt - To bury the hatcher - To let the cat out of the bag - To draw the long bow - To swell a rat - To hit below the belt - To mind one`s p`s and q`s Despite the book being old and the language has been transformed over the years, some idioms are still in use nowadays. Could it be applied with the senteces above mentioned? Thanks !Ps: - To blow one`s own TRUMPETI don`t get it... I wrote according to what is written in my book.

Mar 13, 2014 5:18 PM

Answers · 23

Most of them are still in use, or at least, people are aware of what they mean. As Peachey said - it is REALLY important to spell idioms correctly - otherwise you will completely confuse people, or write something completely different. Despite what you say, I am sure they were _not_ written in the book the way you wrote them, unless the book was a very bad copy, or written by a non-English native speaker. FYI: hatcher=hatchet, swell=smell, cause=canoe -To ride the big horse- and -To draw the long bow- are two that I do not know and would not use. They are however obvious enough that I think that I know what they mean.

March 13, 2014