OG 1 - Words and Idioms

LETTERS FROM OG Number 1 15/11/07

 

For Nathaniel, Joshua Aiden, Clara, Gilbert, Isabella, Hannah, Marigold, Zoe, Lilian, Sebastion, Koko, Nevada, Mieka, Liam, Talitha, Sammy, Madeline, Oscar, Mattheus, Chenoa, Clancy and maybe, one day, other home scholars.

 

Hi Gang,

 

Oma is the Dutch word for grandmother. This letter is from your Oma Wilma, who came from Holland when she was 7 years old, and Granddad who grew up in Bondi, not far from the beach. We are calling ourselves “OG” because this sounds scarier than “GO”. The bible talks about a man called OG, king of Bashan. He was an evil man, a king who tried to kill God’s people. He was a very tall man and slept in an iron bed 4 metres long. He has nothing to do with your Oma and Grandad. We will send you letters from OG regularly.

 

Why are Oma and Granddad writing these letters? We want to give your mum and dad some help with your home schooling, or even if you attend another school. A good way we can help is to help you to build up your WORD skills.

 

Words are very powerful. They are like a sword. They can kill in evil hands, or may be mighty in telling truths that need to be told. Do you see “word” somewhere in sword?

 

The bible tells us to “take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”

The wise man who said “the pen (or biro, or pencil) has more power than the sword” is saying what our Lord teaches us. It is better to bring His words to people than to kill them with a sword! People are won by words, not by violence.

 

We will try and keep it easy, but each time we will add a few harder words. This is so that more senior scholars amongst you will have their minds exercised and get a good thinking “six pack”.

 

This time we want to teach you about a word that we are sure you have NOT met before-

 

IDIOM. WHAT IS AN IDIOM?

 

An Idiom is a phrase, (group of words) that has a meaning known to a group of people. However, if people who are not part of that group do not know the meaning, they cannot work it out, even if they know what each word in the phrase means.

 

Let us give you an example of an Idiom: “After many months in a deep coma Uncle Fred finally kicked the bucket last night.”

 

Can you guess what the phrase “kick the bucket” means?

 

Most people in Australia know that to “kick the bucket” means to die. But if you did not know this you could never work this out, even if you knew what is a bucket (a noun, or naming word) and what kicking (a verb, or doing word) means.

 

All groups of people on earth use idioms. If you really want to learn their languages you must learn their words. This is sometimes easy. You must also learn their Idioms. And this is usually very hard to do.

 

If later you learn Latin, which some rude people call a “dead language” but which we hope you will learn, you must learn the words the Roman’s spoke. This is not easy!

 

After three or four years of hard slog you will be given the books of some great Roman poets, historians, or orators. In these books you will come across Roman Idioms. These Idioms make their works so exiting and interesting. (Q: What are poets, historians and orators?)

 

There are thousands of Idioms. We are sure you can find many yourself, if you keep your eyes out, (Oops! we think we have just used an idiom in the last sentence. Can you pick it?)

 

Let us return to poor old Uncle Fred. If you came from another country, say China, and you were told he kicked the bucket, would you not say, (probably to yourself because Chinese are usually very polite), “this is stupid! How can a man who has been in a coma for many months kick a bucket? He would not have a bucket in bed with him, and if he was comatose he certainly would not be walking around so that he could kick a bucket left near his bed.”

 

Q: is there a difference between “in a deep coma” and “comatose”? A: Not much, but coma is a noun and comatose is an adjective! Ask mum or dad what this means, or wait until soon, when we will say a lot more about this.

 

Just occasionally a line from a film becomes well known, and often used by people who may not even know from where it came. Quotes like “play it again, Sam” used by Humphrey Bogart in the film, ‘Casablanca’; or “make my day!” used by Clint Eastwood playing Dirty Harry, where he is holding a gun at a murderous criminal’s head, and invites him to “make my day” by doing something to give him an excuse to pull the trigger. Sayings as famous as these are not all that common. We can’t think of many.

 

Have you heard of a great Elizabethan play writer and poet called William Shakespeare? He lived 1566-1614

He made up 2000 Idioms that are still used today.

(Q: Who was Elizabeth the first, and who is Elizabeth the second? When did they live?)

 

Here are but a few of Shakespeare’s 2000 idioms. What do you think they mean?

 

HE MELTED INTO THIN AIR.

HE HAS EATEN ME OUT OF HOUSE AND HOME.

I HAVE NOT SLEPT A WINK.

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING

A SORRY SIGHT

TO COME FULL CIRCLE

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD

GOOD RIDDANCE

A WILD GOOSE CHASE

THE QUEEN’S ENGLISH

IN MY MIND’S EYE

A FOOL’S PARADISE

IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE

 

 

Here are some other common Idioms. Try to fill in the gaps..

 

LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES IN THE SAME PLACE………

Before …. Twice…. Secondly…. thrice

 

IF YOU WATCH A KETTLE IT NEVER ……..

Cooks….boils….stews….heats

 

LOOK BEFORE YOU…..

Leap strike….rush….go

 

DO NOT COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY ARE…….

Born….fed….hatched….stolen

 

LET……….DOGS LIE

Sleeping….snoozing….dreaming….barking

 

STRIKE WHILE THE IRON IS ………

heating…. heated….hot….soft

 

POLITENESS COSTS……

A lot….a little….much….nothing

 

(The “fill in gaps” exercise we have just looked at is a great cause of SHAME for Australians. Granddad found it on the internet. It was once an exam paper set for people wanting to come and live in Australia.

There was a time, a shameful time, when the so called “White Australia Policy” was working. This meant that only people with white, Anglo-Saxon features could come to Australia.

 

Funnily enough, the Lord Jesus would have been tossed out under this policy. Anyhow, they all had to sit for an entrance exam in English. Some smarty in Canberra, where many of the social engineer’s work, realized that many of these people spoke perfect English, but would probably be weak on Australian idioms. Have a closer look at this exam paper! How clever it is, and how evil it is!

Any Australian would know what these idioms meant. Many of the people coming to Australia would find them very difficult, because they were unfamiliar Australian idioms. So, if you asked Australians whether this was an unfair exam, they would say, “of course not, even I know what they mean”. Thankfully, much of this has changed.

 

Let’s have a look at the idiom “kick the bucket” again!

Some scholars think they know from where the idiom “kick the bucket” came. Some buckets have a rim around their bottom. When a person is sad or lonely they sometimes, stupidly, try to kill themselves. (Q: What do the police call this?)

They would put a rope noose around their necks and stand on an upside down bucket. They then tied the noose to an overhead beam and kicked the bucket edge. This kicked the bucket away from them, so that they dropped and almost always broke their neck, and died! Yuk!

 

How can we be sure Uncle Fred did not commit suicide? Because he was in a deep coma!

Other scholars say that this idea of kicking the bucket is not true! They say, this is “fanciful”.

 

Interestingly, people in Poland use a similar idiom for death. They talk about people “kicking the calendar”. Have a guess what this means. When you die, do you need a calendar, or a diary?

 

Many of you have Omas (Grand-mothers) who came from Poland or Holland. Talk amongst yourselves and try to find: who came from where?

 

Is this not such a wonderful thing about Australia, so many people coming from so many countries, 106 at the last count, and one day all becoming members of the same family?

The bible says that all who trust the lord Jesus are One in Christ. Would this apply to the Christian people of Antarctica? Why not?

SOME MORE ABOUT IDIOMS FOR THE OLDER CHILDREN.

By now you should see that what idioms mean usually can’t be worked out just because you know the exact meaning of the words.

In fact, there are many different types of idioms. Let’s look at a few.

 

1. Single word idioms: A good example is the word “vomit”. In Australia we often use words that all mean vomit: Chunder, chuck, spew, perk, puke. Somebody from another country may know what vomit means, but wouldn’t know what you were talking about when you used these words, even though they all mean “vomit”. They are single word idioms.

 

2. Phrases: These are groups of words. Good examples are the 2000 or so idioms of Shakespeare.

 

3. Similes: Do we all know what ‘similar’ means? ‘Similar’ comes from the Latin word ‘similis, meaning ‘like’, Things may be like each other in many ways, but not exactly the same in every way. Alike, but not identical. A simile is the comparison of two unlike things using the word 'like' or 'as',

In a simile these two things are not like in most ways, but are like in one important way. In a simile, the words "like" or "as" are used to signal that a comparison is being made between the two things. There are thousands of similes around. Examples of Similes Using Like and As. 1. Last night Bob slept like a log. In this example, slept like a log is the simile, and like is the word used to signal that a comparison is being made. How is Bob’s sleeping and a log similar, (alike but not the same)? The two things being compared are "slept" and "log." A log just lies in one place and does not move. A mental image of Bob sleeping like a log would show him lying in one place without moving. This would bring out that the speaker or writer is saying that Bob had a long, deep, and undisturbed sleep and not just taking a nap. 2. Working on her project, Mary was as busy as a beaver. In this example, as busy as a beaver is the simile, and as is the word used to signal that a comparison is being made. How is Mary’s working and a beaver alike but not the same? The two things being compared are "busy" and "beaver." When building a dam a beaver keeps busily working until the dam is completed. A mental image of Mary being as busy as a beaver while working on her project would show her working very hard. This would bring out that the speaker or writer is saying that Mary was putting a lot of effort into her project and would keep working until it was completed. Commonly Used Similes Here are some commonly used similes in which ‘like’ is used to signal the comparison: fits like a glove runs like a deer chatters like a monkey moves like a snail sits there like a bump on a log eats like a pig swims like a fish stood out like a sore thumb fought like cats and dogs eyes like a hawk takes it like a man sings like a bird Here are some commonly used similes in which ‘as’ is used to signal the comparison: as happy as pig in mud ; as nutty as a fruitcake; as pretty as a picture; as good as gold ; as quiet as a mouse; as mad as a hatter ; as dry as a bone; as mad as a cut snake;. as dead as a dodo.

4. Phrasal verbs: We will look at these in more detail later when we have learnt about verbs and prepositions. Turn up (arrive); turn in (go to bed); take off (leave suddenly); give up (stop working). Look down upon (treat as inferior) These are all idioms, because you cannot work out what they mean by just knowing the words.

5. Proverbs: These are idioms that have a special purpose, to carry a piece of advice, wisdom or truth. Examples: all that glistens is not gold. A stitch in time saves nine. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

They often come from written texts such as Shakespeare, or the bible.

 

6. Rhyming slang: (Sometimes called Cockney rhyming slang.) What is a Cockney?

A Cockney was a person born in the east end of London; this was one of the poor, working class areas of the city. A true Cockney was born within the sound of the bells of a particular church called St. Mary-le-Bow. This probably could not happen today because many people complain about church bells making a noise. Cockneys were looked down upon by many other people, partly because they spoke with a certain type of accent and used strange idioms called rhyming slang.

Here are some examples of rhyming slang.:

 

Trouble and strife (wife)

Septic tank (yank, or American)

Dickory dock (clock)

Iron tank (bank)

Mickey mouse (house)

Apple and pears (stairs)

Teapot lids (kids)

Noah’s ark (shark)

Uncle Bert (shirt)

Iron hoof (poof, or gay person)

Dog and bone (telephone).

 

Some background for you who are parents!

 

The origins of Cockney Rhyming Slang are uncertain. It's not really a language since the words spoken are clearly English; on the other hand, it's not a dialect either, since the speakers of this slang are also perfectly capable of not using it. (A dialect is a form of language spoken only by people in certain areas or social groups). One story has it that it originated in the prisons so that inmates could talk without the guards listening in. Another is that it was born shortly after Sir Robert Peel introduced and implemented his ideas for a Police force in the 1850s. (The police became known as “ Peelers”.) The criminal fraternity had never been faced with such a concerted effort to thwart them, so they developed Cockney Slang, the idea being that two or more criminals could hold open conversation, within earshot of a "Peeler," without fear that their plans were being overheard by the police.

 

7. Slang: Slang is informal language used by certain groups. It is usually used in speech more than in writing. Whole books are written on Australian slang.)

Some examples of Aussie Slang:

 

Arvo (afternoon) Aussie (Australian) Big smoke (city) Abyssinia Samoa (I’ll be seeing you some more.)

Go bush (leave the city). Ankle biter (small child). Aerial ping pong (Australian Rules Football) Back of Bourke (a very long way away), and many thousands more!

 

 

 

WORDS YOU HAVE LEARNT TODAY

MATCH THE WORD WITH A MEANING

 

A. SWORD 1 To come out of an egg

 

B SCHOLAR 2 A state of deep sleep caused by disease, injury or poison

 

C COMA 3 A doing word

 

D NOUN 4 One who writes poetry

 

E GLITTER 5 A metal weapon with a long blade for cutting or thrusting

 

F ORATOR 6 To take ones own life

 

G ELZABETHAN 7 A naming word

 

H PARADISE 8 English poet and play writer (1564-1616)

 

I VERB 9 A state of great happiness

 

J HISTORIAN 10 One who is a skilful public speaker

 

K FANCIFUL 11 full of wild ideas, not bound by reason or experience

 

L POET 12 To shine with many small flashes of bright light

 

M HATCHED 13 One who studies under a teacher

 

O SHAKESPEARE 14 One who writes or studies history

 

P SUICIDE 15 A group of words

 

Q PHRASE 16 During the reign of Elizabeth the first, of England

 

 

ANSWERS A…… B….. . C…… D…… E…… F…… G……

 

H…… I…… J…… K…… L…… M…… N……

 

O…… P…… Q……

 

When you fill this in (oops, an idiom), please do not use a biro, jackhammer, sword, chisel or stylus (Q; what is the difference?)

 

Why use a pencil? Because a pencil may be rubbed out, so that you may try again to revise it, to remind you of all that you have learnt. and fix up the mistakes you may have made.

 

Much love,

OG Oma and Grandad