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MrMacPhisto
Phoenix
Joined: May 21, 2007
Age: 22
Posts: 1026
Location: Lost On A Silent Planet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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 Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 12:38 pm Post subject: Does anyone know about Idioms |
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This is something that may or may not help you in everyday life. Some of you might have problems understanding people at work, college or anywhere really and when I was at school I learnt about Idioms we did it every Friday. Idioms are phrases which people use example:
He let the cat out the bag
We will be burning the midnight oil
Out of the blue
He saw red
I do use them a lot they can be very stupid at times does anyone have trouble understanding them.
I don't because I learnt alot of things socially and communication believe me for someone who has tried everything for the last 7 years trying to hide the fact with what I've got it's quite good
And enlighten me what does NT mean???
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Kosmonaut
Phoenix
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Joined: Sep 15, 2006
Posts: 3886
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 12:55 pm Post subject: |
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| well i dont know about idioms, but i do know about idiots. |
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Tequila
Bigot Extraordinare
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Age: 20
Posts: 6519
Location: Lancashire, UK
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 1:02 pm Post subject: |
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I use idioms myself quite often. The only time when I do have trouble is when the phrases in question are very idiomatic. But in those cases I suspect other people would have that problem too.
NT = neurotypicals (people without Asperger's Syndrome or autism in other words) |
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CockneyRebel
Sid The Love Rat is a Sweet Pea :O)
Joined: Jul 18, 2004
Age: 34
Posts: 21174
Location: Out in the evening, with me two best Rat Mates :O)
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 1:20 pm Post subject: |
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| I use them all the time. |
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KimJ
Legend in my own mind
Joined: Jun 11, 2006
Posts: 2538
Location: Arizona
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 1:22 pm Post subject: |
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| I have them down pat now (I think) but I know it took me longer to get them. I think I take them more seriously than most people do. I find some idioms to be offensive and to contain their own emotional subtext. Like the imagery conjured up when someone charges, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water!" Not only do I see it, but then the emotional subtext of doing something rash, harmful and irreparable, and terribly sad. When most people say it to mean generalizing to the point of overlooking a detail. Or dismissing something because of a generalization. |
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Wolfpup
Phoenix
Joined: Apr 15, 2007
Posts: 1576
Location: Central Illinois, USA
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 1:39 pm Post subject: |
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| I think I use them, but I can't think of an example right now. |
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krex
Phoenix
Joined: Jun 21, 2006
Age: 45
Posts: 5002
Location: Village of the Damned
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 1:43 pm Post subject: |
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The first book I learned to read was the bible and it's filled with these,so I think I became quit good at figuring them out.I dont understand why they think aspies "cant" learn these.Yes,we may "see" the thing Literally but we can intellectually figure most of them out by the context they are being used.
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SteveK
Phoenix
Joined: Oct 20, 2006
Posts: 3417
Location: Chicago, IL
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 1:52 pm Post subject: |
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I learned them the same way I learned english. Admittedly, some took longer than others, and I try to look for a REASON!
He let the cat out the bag
He told a secret. Probably based on the idea it is hard to get a cat into a bag, so "like the genie out of the bottle", it may not be easily corrected.
We will be burning the midnight oil
We will stay up late. Probably based on old oil lamps used before electricity.
Out of the blue
Out of noplace. Probably like "out of thin air". Such would be unexpected. The sky(and air) generally appears blue.
He saw red
He was angry. Red is an "angry" color, and the color of blood.
Of course, two I have used lately are:
take it with a grain of salt.
Don't trust it. MAYBE that is due to old marketplace vendors selling moist goods such as meat, where salt was added to help remove bad taste and prevent some disease.
Long time no see.
We haven't seen one another in a long time. This makes sense, and is quick, but is improper English!
Steve |
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Mushroom
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Joined: Mar 25, 2007
Posts: 826
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 2:07 pm Post subject: |
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I understand idioms that I've heard before well. However new ones can confuse me sometimes.
I use some, too, but very rarely. |
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ainvar
Pileated woodpecker
Joined: Apr 17, 2007
Posts: 186
Location: Home, where my heart is
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 2:36 pm Post subject: |
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I have to say that I really like idioms, particularly southern american idioms. They often have a funny sound to them, and the visual imagery can be funny as well...
Some examples:
When he was knee-high to a grasshopper.
That boy was happier'n a hog in slop.
She was madder'n a rooster in a hen house.
That boy done got beat with an ugly stick.
He sure was dumb as bricks.
That squirrel sure is deader'n a door nail.
etc.
Very often when someone says an idiom (or I read it), I will picture what they said literally, and then translate it into what it probably means. For idioms that I've heard and used my whole life, I usually skip this step, but that is probably because in my mind the idiom IS the correct "word" to describe the situation, particularly when I find there is not a suitable alternative.
Just my two cents  |
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Wolfpup
Phoenix
Joined: Apr 15, 2007
Posts: 1576
Location: Central Illinois, USA
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 2:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Isn't it normal for anyone NT or AS to try to figure out what these mean the first time they hear it? To me it seems like either way once you understand what it means you'd be okay. |
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Wolfpup
Phoenix
Joined: Apr 15, 2007
Posts: 1576
Location: Central Illinois, USA
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 2:42 pm Post subject: |
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| ainvar wrote: | I have to say that I really like idioms, particularly southern american idioms. They often have a funny sound to them, and the visual imagery can be funny as well...
Some examples:
When he was knee-high to a grasshopper. |
What the heck does that mean? I've heard it, and the only thing I can figure out is...someone's really short? Like they only come up to a grasshopper's knee (if they have knees)? |
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ainvar
Pileated woodpecker
Joined: Apr 17, 2007
Posts: 186
Location: Home, where my heart is
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 2:58 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | What the heck does that mean? I've heard it, and the only thing I can figure out is...someone's really short? Like they only come up to a grasshopper's knee (if they have knees)? |
Yes, it means that they are short, although usually in the context of also being very young. That is the only way that I have heard the expression used, at any rate.
| Quote: | | Isn't it normal for anyone NT or AS to try to figure out what these mean the first time they hear it? To me it seems like either way once you understand what it means you'd be okay. |
Yes, it does seem like most people prefer to understand what is said to them =) But I suppose that the "how" of the understanding can be an interesting thing in and of itself. |
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SolaCatella
Phoenix
Joined: Nov 25, 2005
Posts: 694
Location: [insert creative, funny declaration of location here]
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 9:18 pm Post subject: |
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I happen to love languages, odd or archaic words and turns of phrase, and general linguistic things. That tends to mean that I have no problem with idioms and have actually used idioms that confused the (NT) person I was speaking to--such as the time my Latin teacher was groping for examples of idioms and I brightly responded "Going at it hammer and tongs?" and the entire class just stared. Apparantly the expression hadn't been as widely known as I thought it was.
I also like idioms.  They're funny. And I learn words and phrases mostly through context, and it's generally obvious to me what the person was trying to say even if I don't know the idiom at the time.
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9CatMom
Ailurophile
Joined: Jan 02, 2007
Posts: 5650
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| Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 9:27 pm Post subject: |
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I enjoy idioms and figures of speech. Since I majored in English in college, I could not have made it through without knowing them. Also, I think they are fun.
An English expression I love is "Enough to make a cat laugh," meaning something has to be very funny or amusing. I think my cats can amuse themselves very well. |
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