Celebración Dos Años de mi Blog - 5 (Modismos en Novelas de Agatha Christie)

Celebración Dos Años de mi Blog -5 (Modismos en novelas de Agatha Christie)
http://sanchezbenedito.blogspot.com.es/2014/01/modismos-en-novelas-de-agatha-christie.html

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Idioms: being/getting angry.

Here are some idioms you can use to indicate that someone is angry or getting angry, or sth that makes sb angry:

to hit the roof/ceiling
to drive sb up the wall
to drive sb round the bend/twist
to go off the deep end
to be foaming at the mouth
to have kittens
to cut up rough
to go bananas
to blow a fuse
to jump down sb's throat
sth is like a red rag to a bull
to get/put sb's back up


Complete the following sentences:

1.- My mother .... bananas when I said I was going to leave the job.

2.- He .... a fuse and started shooting at people. 

3.- I went into the boss’s office and asked him for a rise -  it was like a .... rag to a bull.

4.- He hit the .... when he saw his wife kissing another man. 

5.- He’s always so sure of himself – frankly, he puts my back .... 

6.- She nearly .... kittens when she saw her boyfriend dancing with  another girl. 

7.- She’ll .... up rough if you don’t give her what she’s asked for.

8.- The baby’s been crying for two hours - it .... me up the wall.

9.- There’s no reason for you to go off the .... end.

10.- He was .... at the mouth because they had robbed him of his wallet.  


KEY

1.- went; 2.- blew; 3.- red; 4.- roof/ceiling; 5.- up; 6.- had; 7.- cut; 

8.- drives; 9,. deep; 10.- foaming


SOURCE: Diccionario Bilingüe de Modismos, e-book version. 

Amazon (Kindle).http://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B00Q1HHDLK

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Food Idioms

FOOD IDIOMS

Exercise

Complete the following idioms with one of the following words: milk, egg, bread, carrot, salt, biscuit, cherry, potato, peas, jam

           

      1.         After their team lost the match 5-0, the fans were left with..........on their face.

      2.         You really take the ...............for making a fool of yourself with women.

      3.         He was lucky – they let him have another bite at the ...............

      4.         He’s been unemployed for over two years, so it’s his wife who’s the ........... winner now.

      5.         The pay is good and what you have to do couldn’t be simpler - it’s  money   for .........

      6.             The mirror is broken and we can't fix it. There's no need to cry over spilled .................

      7.         He’s a liar- You should take whatever he says with a pinch of ................

      8.         The question of pensions is a hot ............. for both the unions and the government.

      9.         It’s really difficult to tell one from the other – they’re as like as two ...............

      10.        To get the best out of your workforce it’s probably better to use the .......... rather than the stick.

KEY

1-egg; 2-biscuit; 3-cherry, 4-bread; 5-jam; 6-milk; 7-salt, 8-potato, 9-peas; 10-carrot

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Preparing for the 'oposiciones': familiar Spanish idioms (2nd part)

Today, some more Spanish idioms of a familiar style, difficult to translate into English. Dare you translate them?:

1.- Andando/arreando/marchando, etc. que es gerundio!
2.- Arrieros/arrieritos somos (y en el camino nos encontraremos).
3.- Aguantar carros y carretas/carretas y carretones (regional)
4.- Como Pedro por su casa.
5.- Estar con algo como Mateo con la guitarra/estar como niño con zapatos nuevos.
6.- Como el gallo de Morón, sin plumas y cacareando.

SUGGESTED ANSWERS

1.- Get a move on!; come on, chop-chop!
2.- I'll get back at you (for what you've done to me), just you wait!
3.- To take it lying down; to put up with anything.
4.- As if he owned the place.
5.- To be like a kid with a new toy; to be like a dog with two tails.
6.- Beaten/thrashed, but still proud/crowing.

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Preparing for the 'oposiciones': familiar Spanish idioms (1st part)

Now, for the 'home stretch', we'll pay special attention to idioms, phrasal verbs and grammar transformation.

To begin with, here are some Spanish idioms of a very colloquial or familiar character, which are not always easy to find in general dictionaries. Dare you find some English equivalents?:

1.- A quien Dios se la dé, San Pedro se la bendiga.
2.- A la vejez, viruelas.
3.- Darle un baño a alguien/mojarle la oreja.
4.- Ahumársele a alguien el pescado.
5.- A toro pasado.
6.- Tocarle a alguien bailar con la más fea.

SUGGESTED ANSWERS

1.- Each one to his own, it's none of my business.
2.- Fancy that happening at his age; there's no fool like an old fool.
3.- To wipe the floor with sb.; to take sb. to the cleaner's.
4.- To get all steamed up.
5.- With the benefit of hindsight; wise after the event.
6.- To get the short end of the stick; to draw the short straw.

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Preparing for the 'oposiciones': modismos (ejercicio)

Elige la opción correcta

1. If somebody “joined the great majority”, they
a) died
b) voted for the majority party
c) got married

2 «The year dot» is
a) a long time ago
b) a prosperous year
c) the year the world crisis began

3. If somebody asks you: «What’s the damage?” you probably are
a) a teacher
b) a doctor
c) a waiter

4. If somebody calls you «a square», he’s calling you
a) fat
b) old-fashioned
c) a dirty ol man.

5. If a friend tells you «to shake a leg», he’s asking you
a) to mix him a drink
b) to go to sleep
c) to hurry up

6. If you were left «out on a limb», you’d be
a) delighted to be alone with your girlfriend
b) annoyed because nobody was backing you
c) dead.

7. If you’re at a loose end
a) you’re far from home
b) you have nothing to do
c) you are all by yourself

8. A tall order is
a) a real pleasure
b) a nasty trick
c) somehing very difficult to do

9. If something is not on the cards
a) it isn’t likely to happen
b) it isn’t for sale
c) it’s too dangerous to do

10. If you’re on the ball
a) you’re playing football
b) you’re sound asleep
c) you’re alert

CLAVE

1-a: 2-a; 3-c; 4-b; 5-c; 6-b; 7-b; 8-c; 9-a; 10-c

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Preparing for the 'oposiciones': modismos con nombres propios.

Completa las frases con los siguientes nombres propios: Thames, Spain, China, Tom, McCoy, Thomas, Parker, Riley, Adam, Joneses

1. It’s a Harley Davidson – the real ..............
2. I don’t know him from ..............
3. Now that the neighbours have bought a Mercedes, my wife wants me to buy one too. To keep up with the ...................- that’s all she cares about.
4. Stop complaining. You’re living the life of ............
5. Our new neighbour is a nosy ...............
6. I wouldn’t sell it for all the tea in ...........
7. Stop building castles in .............
8. It isn’t a bad show, but it won’t set the .............on fire.
9. He’s always been a doubting ..................
10. I don’t like him. He’s a peeping ............

KEY

1-McCoy; 2-Adam; 3-Joneses; 4-Riley; 5-Parker; 6-China; 7-Spain; 8-Thames; 9-Thomas; 10-Tom

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Preparing for the 'oposiciones': meanings of out of

 Out of is a complex preposition. We give this name to prepositions that are made up of two or more words: according to (según, de acuerdo con), apart from (aparte de, además de), on behalf of (en nombre de), with a view to (con vistas/miras a, con objeto de), etc. Today we are going to have a look at the different meanings of out of, some literal, some figurative. Here are the main ones:

- ‘fuera de’ (literal or figurative)

Fish cannot live out of water - los peces no pueden vivir fuera del agua.

Mr Parker is out of town this week - el Sr Parker está fuera de la ciudad esta semana.

She works in an office block, and has to walk out of the building to smoke a cigarette - trabaja en un bloque de oficinas y tiene que salir del edificio para fumar un cigarrillo.

She’s out of danger now – (ella) está fuera de peligro ahora.

Messi will be out of the team until he recovers – Messi estará fuera del equipo hasta que se recupere.

- ‘de cada’

Our team is a disaster - they lose nine matches out of ten – nuestro equipo es un desastre - pierden nueve partidos de cada diez.

In Britain, one out of three marriages ends in divorce – En Gran Bretaña, uno de cada tres matrimonios termina en divorcio (tamb. con in: one in three).

- ‘sin/careciendo de’ (having none left)

We’re out of petrol/money, etc. – estamos sin gasolina/dinero, etc.

He’s out of work – (él) está sin trabajo.

You’re out of breath, have you been running? – estás sin aliento, ¿has estado corriendo?

I’m afraid that book is out of print – me temo que ese libro está agotado.

That shirt is temporarily out of stock – no quedan existencias de esa camisa en este momento.

- ‘por’ (reason)
He did it out of spite – lo hizo por rencor.

She kissed him out of pity – lo besó por lástima.

- ‘de’ (material from which sth. is made or comes from)

He made a canoe out of a tree trunk – hizo una canoa del tronco de un árbol.

a statue made out of bronze – una estatua hecha de bronce. 

- ‘de’ (container or place from which sth. comes or is taken)

to drink out of the bottle – beber de la botella.

a scene out of a play – una escena de una obra de teatro.

- ‘a cierta distancia de’ (at a certain distance from)

Macharaviaya. where José de Gálvez was born, is a little village about 25 kms. out of Malaga – Macharaviaya, donde nació José de Gálvez,  es un pequeño pueblo a unos 25 kms. de Málaga.

- idioms

out of date – anticuado

out of fashion – pasado de moda

out of focus – desenfocado

out of order – averiado, que no funciona

out of reach – fuera del alcance

out of shape/form/condition – bajo de forma

out of sight – fuera del alcance de la vista

out of season – fuera de temporada

out of sorts – indispuesto

out of temper – enfadado

out of the blue - inesperadamente

out of this world – fantástico, extraordinario

out of tune – desafinado

to talk sb. out of sth. – quitarle a alguien algo de la cabeza

PRACTICE

Translate into Spanish

a.- I asked only out of curiosity.

b.- I had to pay for the repairs out of my own pocket.

c.- Two out of three people think the President should resign.

d.- Karen stood watching the car until it was out of sight.

e.- The hut was made out of old planks.

f.- The President seems to have run out of ideas.

g.- The lift is out of order.

h.- Be careful! - he’s out of patience.

i.- Don’t lean out of the car window - it can be dangerous.

j.- You’re out of luck - Kevin left five minutes ago.

KEY

a.- Pregunté solamente por curiosidad.

b.- Tuve que pagar la reparación de mi bolsillo. 

c.- Dos de cada tres personas creen que el Presidente debería dimitir. 

d.- Karen se quedó mirando el coche hasta que se perdió de vista. 

e.- La cabaña estaba hecha con tablas viejas. 

f.- Al Presidente parece que se le han acabado las ideas. 

g.- El ascensor no funciona. 

h.- ¡Ten cuidado! – se le ha acabado la paciencia. 

i.- No te asomes por la ventanilla del coche – puede ser peligroso. j.- No tienes suerte – Kevin se fue hace cinco minutos.

For other complex prepositions, see my Gramática Inglesa, 9ª ed., Pearson/Longman, pp. 491-500.

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Refranes: ejercicios

Los refraneshttp://sanchezbenedito.blogspot.com.es/2013/06/some-common-proverbs.html se usan hoy día con bastante menos frecuencia que en épocas anteriores, sin embargo, no es tampoco tan raro encontrar algunos de ellos, sobre todo en lenguaje literario o periodístico. Así, por ejemplo, aunque en lenguaje coloquial no se oigan ya refranes con sabor ligeramente arcaico como better the devil you know, than the devil you don't know ('más vale malo conocido que bueno por conocer'), no es para nada extraño encontrarlo, usado por algún periodista, haciendo referencia a una situación que no es muy buena que digamos, pero con la que hay que conformarse, porque podría ser peor. Lo mismo ocurre con you can take/may lead a horse to the water, but you can't make it/him drink ('treinta monjes y un abad no pueden hacer beber al asno contra su voluntad'), que se encuentra alguna vez para expresar la idea de 'hay siempre un punto en el que es imposible lograr que alguien haga lo que nosotros creemos que debe hacer, o que siga por el camino que queremos que siga'. 
En otros casos, el refrán ha desaparecido al cambiar los hábitos sociales. Esto es lo que ocurre, por ejemplo, con spare the rod, spoil the child ('deja de usar la vara y malearás al niño', equivalente más o menos al castellano 'la letra con sangre entra'), muy frecuente en otros tiempos, pero poco usado hoy día, porque los castigos físicos están totalmente desterrados de las escuelas en la actualidad. Sin embargo, eran completamente normales antiguamente y siguieron usándose en Inglaterra con cierta frecuencia hasta bien entrado el siglo XX. Significativas son, a este respecto, las palabras del gran Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) que, ya en su edad adulta, agradecía en una de sus cartas que su maestro en Lichfield, su ciudad natal, hubiera usado la vara en clase, diciendo textualmente "he whipped the boys severely to save them from the gallows” ('azotaba severamente a los muchachos para salvarlos de la horca').
Algunos refranes, sin embargo, siguen usándose hoy día, como podéis comprobar si hacéis el siguiente ejercicio:

EJERCICIO

Completa los siguientes refranes y da el equivalente más próximo en español:

1.- There's no .............for taste(s).
2.- A new broom .........clean.
3.- One swallow doesn't make a ...........
4.- Too many .......spoil the broth.
5.- A friend in ........is a friend indeed.
6.- When the cat is away, the .........will play.
7.- Don't look a ........horse in the mouth.
8.- You can't teach an old ...........new tricks.
9.- When in Rome, do as the ...........do.
10.- (There's) no ..........without fire.
11.- Prevention is better than .........
12.- The proof of the .......is in the eating.

KEY

1.- accounting - 'sobre gustos no hay nada escrito'.
2.- sweeps - 'escoba nueva barre bien', una persona recién nombrada para un puesto de responsabilidad entra siempre con muchas ganas de hacer cambios, introducir mejoras, etc.
3.- summer - 'una golondrina no hace verano'.
4.- cooks - 'demasiados cocineros estropean el caldo', 'obra de común, obra de ningún', 'muchos componedores descomponen la olla'.
5.- need -  'amigo en la adversidad es amigo de verdad', en la adversidad es cuando se ve a los buenos amigos.
6.- mice - 'cuando el gato duerme, bailan los ratones', 'cuando el gato no está, los ratones bailan'.
7.- gift - 'a caballo regalado no le mires el diente'.
8.- dog - 'loro viejo no aprende a hablar', es difícil hacer cambiar de ideas, hábitos, etc. a las personas mayores.
9.- Romans - 'donde fueres, haz lo que vieres'.
10.- smoke - ''no hay humo sin fuego', 'cuando el río suena, agua lleva'.
11.- cure - 'más vale prevenir que curar'.
12.- pudding - 'el movimiento se demuestra andando', para saber si algo es bueno, antes hay que probarlo, no se puede saber si algo es bueno o no hasta haberlo probado.

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Preparing for the 'oposiciones': Idioms with 'bread', 'butter', 'cake' and 'eggs'

Here are some idioms with the words bread, butter, cake and eggs, with their equivalents in Spanish. The commonest ones are marked with an asterisk:

* to know which side one's bread is buttered on - arrimarse al sol que más calienta
* the breadwinner - la persona que mantiene a la familia
* half a loaf is better than no bread (proverb)- a falta de pan, buenas son tortas
* the best thing since sliced bread - lo mejor que se ha inventado
* someone's bread and butter - el sustento de alguien, sus habichuelas, su medio de ganarse la vida
* to butter somebody up - hacer la pelota a alguien
* to look as if butter wouldn't melt in somebody's mouth - parecer una moquita muerta, que no ha roto un plato en su vida
to take the cake [also to take the biscuit (IBr)] - llevarse la palma, ser peor de lo que uno pueda imaginar
to be a piece of cake - ser pan comido, estar chupado
you can't have your cake and eat it (too) - no se puede tener todo, o una cosa o la otra
* to sell like hot cakes - venderse como rosquillas
* to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs - matar la gallina de los huevos de oro
* a nest egg - unos buenos ahorros/ahorrillos
to have egg on your face - quedársele a uno cara de tonto
to put all your eggs in one basket - jugárselo todo a una carta
as sure as eggs is eggs - tan seguro como que dos y dos son cuatro
you can't teach your grandmother to suck eggs (proverb) - más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo
good in parts like the curate's egg - bueno en parte, como el huevo del cura (in the OED, we find the following explanation of this curious idiom: "originating in a story of a meek curate who, having been given a stale egg by his episcopal host, stated that 'parts of it were excellent', from Punch, 9 Nov. 1892")


EXERCISE

Complete the sentences with the appropriate idiom:

1.- Stop ............. I'm not not going to lend you my car.
2.- He has made it again - his new album is selling .....................
3.- After her husband's death, she became the ............
4.- Although he looks as if ................, if I were you, I wouldn't trust him an inch.
5.- Make up your mind; a holiday in Spain or a new car. You can't ...................
6.- Don't worry, you'll pass your exam. It's a ............
7.- You should accept their offer. After all, half ..................
8.- After their team lost the match 5-0, the fans were left with ...........
9.- This new robot vacuum cleaner is the best thing ..............
10.- I advise you to invest somewhere else too - it isn't wise to put ................
11.- He isn't worried about the future - apart from his pension, he has a nice little ........... in the bank.
12.- You really ...........for making a fool of yourself with women.
13.- He doesn't miss an occasion to flatter the boss - he really knows ............
14.- You must go on giving good service in your hotel if you don't want to kill .............

KEY

1.- buttering me up; 2.- like hot cakes; 3.- breadwinner; 4.- butter wouldn't melt in his mouth; 5.- have your cake and eat it (too); 6.- piece of cake; 7.- a loaf is better than no bread; 8.- egg in their face; 9.- since sliced bread; 10.- all your eggs in one basket; 11.- nest egg; 12.- take the cake; 13.- which side his bread is buttered on; 14.- the goose that lays the golden eggs.

TIP

For listening comprehension practice, I strongly recommend visiting the BBC Homepage, Learning English, The English We Speak, where you'll find plenty of interesting and amusing podcasts. For example, if you listen to the one broadcast on 11 Feb. 2014, you can learn the idiom Chew the Fat (echar un rato de palique), while you have a bit of fun. Just a few days ago, I listened to The Boot's on the other foot, which I also liked very much.

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Preparing for the 'oposiciones': idioms with 'way'

Idioms with 'way'

all the way (por completo, hasta el final)

by the way (a propósito)

by way of (a.-pasando por; b- a modo de)

can you tell me the way to...? (¿me puede decir cómo se va a...?)

get out of the way! (¡quítate de en medio!)

I must be on my way (tengo que marcharme)

in a way (en cierto modo)

in the family way (embarazada)

no way! (¡ni hablar!, ¡de ninguna manera!)

on one’s way (de camino)

the other way round (al revés, todo lo contrario)

the wrong way round (al revés, lo de delante detrás)

there are no two ways about it (no tiene vuelta de hoja)

this way (por aquí)

to ask the way to (preguntar cómo se va a algún lugar )

to be born that way (haber nacido así, ser de nacimiento)

to be in the way (estorbar, estar en medio)

to be set in one’s ways (tener costumbres fijas)

to be under way (estar en marcha, haciéndose)

to cut both ways (ser un arma de doble filo, tener ventajas e inconvenientes)

to do sth one’s way (hacer algo a su manera)

to give way (a.- ceder, hundirse; b.- ceder ante alguien; c.- IBr ceder el paso)

to go a long way towards (contribuir en gran manera a)

to go out of one’s way to (desvivirse por)

to go the way of all flesh (morir, como todo el mundo)

to have a way with people (tener don de gentes)

to have one’s (own) way (salirse con la suya)

to look the other way (hacer la vista gorda)

to lose one’s way (perderse)

to make one’s way in the world (abrirse camino en la vida)

to pave the way to (preparar el terreno para)

to wait to see which way the wind is blowing (esperar a ver por donde van los tiros)

you can’t have it both ways (las dos cosas no pueden ser, no se puede repicar y andar en la procesión)

EXERCISE

Match the letters with the numbers:

a.- She has already had two children.....

b.- It isn’t his fault if he’s so obstinate......

c.- My wife is very clever; she always has...........

d.- The new law will go........

e.- I didn’t know he was dead........

f.- Can I borrow your new car? ......

g.- The room was too crowded.......

h.- You either accept the transfer or you won’t be promoted.......

i.-  She gave me a kiss..........

j.-  She doesn’t mind engaging in heavy petting.........

1.- You can’t have it both ways

2.- Yes, he’s gone the way of all flesh

3.- He was born that way

4.- but she never goes all the way

5.- and she’s in the family way again

6.- by way of payment

7.- her (own) way in the end

8.- No way!

9.- and eventually the floor gave way

10.- a long way towards solving the problem

KEY

a-5; b-3; c-7; d-10; e-2; f-8; g-9; h-1; i-6; j-4

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