Dreams and Discoveries
Idioms
Learn idioms from the story, like getting on someone's nerves.
From the story: "This is not the first time he's got on Papa's nerves or frightened someone half to death." Nobody's nerves are really walked on, and nobody is really half dead! These are idioms.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is different from its separate words. "It's raining cats and dogs" means it's raining very heavily, with no animals involved!
So you can't work idioms out from the words, and you can't translate them word for word into another language. You have to meet them and remember them.
Five from the story:
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| get on someone's nerves | irritate them | Constant power cuts during meetings get on our nerves. |
| frighten someone half to death | scare them very badly | A sudden loud noise at night can frighten me half to death. |
| get a shelling | get scolded | Shekhar knew he'd get a shelling for breaking the vase. |
| leave the coast clear | make sure nobody's around to see | Faizy distracted Kanchan, leaving the coast clear for our birthday surprise. |
| fall over oneself | be very eager to do something | We fell over ourselves trying to help the injured dog. |
In the story, Boppa knew when people were out, leaving the coast clear. And after the burglary, Anita and Anand fell over themselves explaining to the neighbours.
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