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English Idioms Involving Fruits and Veggies
4 years agoOne of the most entertaining parts of learning a new language is getting a solid grasp on idioms. An idiom is defined as "a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words." Basically, it's a phrase that if literally translated to another language would make no sense, like "it's raining cats and dogs" or "one in the hand is worth two in the bush." Every language has idioms and mastering a few can help you seem more proficient in your target language.
Here are three fruit- and veggie-based idioms in English:
A lemon
When you call an object a lemon, it means it hasn't worked right since the beginning. If you just bought a new computer, turned it on, and got a blue screen, you might call the computer company and report that they had sent you "a lemon" and ask about your warranty details.
Cool as a cucumber
If someone says you are cool as a cucumber, take it as a compliment! It means that you stay relaxed even in stressful circumstances. For example, "I sweated all through my English class presentation, but Maritza stayed cool as a cucumber."
Apples and oranges
When you say two things are "apples and oranges," you are saying that they cannot be compared because they are in different classes and are too separate from one another to be understood by the same measurements.
For example, "You can't compare the relevance of Bach and Radiohead on the music world. They're apples and oranges."
Are there any fruit- or vegetable-related idioms in your native language? Tell us about them in the comments! We will probably all get a smile out of the literal translation and learn something about idioms in other contexts.
If you want to learn more fun expressions that will make your English sound more fluid and natural, sign up for a lesson with me.
