English exspressions, idioms, proverbs

Università del Salento

Corso di Informatica 2010-2011Prof.ssa: Mirto MariaStudente: Valentina Mi

Sommario

Obiettivo presentazioneDA MODIFICARE – INTEGRARE- ECC. Imparare divertendosi. Uno dei modi usati da tante persone in tutto il mondo per imparare l'inglese è quello di coniugarlo con la passione per la musica (ma anche prov. Espressioni idiomatiche, ecc.) Tante persone cercano infatti, attraverso l'apprendimento e la comprensione delle proprie canzoni preferite di decodificare i meccanismi di una lingua come l'inglese

A proverb is a short well-known expressionthat states a general truth or gives advice.

IdiomsAn idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning of the words of which it is made. An idiom is generally a colloquial metaphor — a term requiring some foundational knowledge, information, or experience where conversational parties must possess common cultural references. Therefore, idioms are not considered part of the language, but part of the culture. Nevertheless idioms often are useless beyond their local context, some idioms can be more universal than others, can be easily translated, and the metaphoric meaning can be deduced.

Expressions with run, look and catch

Expression Meaning Italiano

Look on the bright side Be cheerful/optimistic Vedere il bello della vita, vedere tutto rosa

Never look a gift horse in the mouth

Be ungreatful for what you are given

A caval donato non si guarda in bocca

Look down your nose at

Feel superior to Guardare qn dall’alto in basso

Expression Meaning Italiano

Look like a drowned rat

Be completely soaked Essere bagnato come un pulcino, essere bagnato fradicio

Catch someone’s eye 1. To establish eye contact with someone; to attract someone's attention2. To appear and attract someone's interest

Attirare l’attenzione di qn, dare nell’occhio

Catch somebody red-handed

Apprhend sb in the act of doing sth

Prendere, catturare sul colpo

Expression Meaning Italiano

Run a business Manage a company Condurre/amministrare un’azienda

Run off with To steel sth and take it away

Correre via dopo aver rubato qc, andarsene di corsa

Run out of Have no more left Rimanere senza

Run short of Have an insufficient supply of

Rimanere a corto di

Idioms connected with aspects of people’s personalityIdiom Meaning Italiano

A new broom A new person in charge who make changes

Un nuovo direttore o una persona con delle responsabilità che apporta subito dei cambiamenti

A wet blanket Someone who does not want to join in and spoils the fun for everybody else

Guastafeste

A stuffed shirt A pompous, self-opinioned person

Essere un pallone gonfiato

A couch potato S/o who like to sit in comfort and do nothing

Sedentario, pantofolaio

Expression Meaning Italiano

A fair wheater friend S/o who stands by you only when things are going well

Chi è amico solo quando le cose vanno bene, un amico inaffidabile, un opportunista

A noisy parker A gossip who wants to know everything that happens to other people

Qn a cui piace spettegolare/sparlare su qn

An armchair critic S/o who expresses opinions about things they know very little about

Critico incompetente

A rolling stone S/o who doesn’t like to stay in one place

Una persona a cui non piace stare nello stesso posto; un vagabondo

PROVERB: A rolling stone gathers no mossA rolling stone gathers no moss:

1- A person who never settles in one place will never be successful

2- A person who does not keep active will grow mouldy

Pietra mossa non fa muschio:

1- Chi cambia continuamente attività non fa fortuna

2- Chi non è attivo, vive nell’ozio o sta sempre nello stesso luogo “fa la muffa”

Expressions with timeExpression Meaning Italian

For the time being As a temporary measure

Per il momento

Time will tell Sth you will only know in the future

Kill time To pass the time; to spend the time doing sth that is not important while you’re waiting for sth else to happen

Ingannare il tempo, ammazzare il tempo, passare il tempo

Just in the nick of time

With only seconds to spare; at the precise moment

Proprio nel momento giusto

Do time To spend time in prison

Buy Time Delay things (an event/a decision)

Guadagnare tempo

Expressions with Book Expression Meaning Italiano

To throw the book at someone

To punish sb who has committed an offence as severely as possible

Incriminare/accusare qn; farla pagare cara

To turn over a new leaf To change Girare pagina, cambiare

To do something by the book

Following rules and instructions in a very strict way

Correttamente, secondo le regole

To take a leaf out of someone’s book

To copy somebody’s behaviour and do things in the same way that they do because they are successful

Seguire l’esempio di qn

To be in someone’s good/bad books

To say that sb is pleased/annoyed with you

Andare a genio a qn; (essere nel libro nero di qn); essere nelle grazie di qn

Expressions with doExpression Meanings

Do wonders for Help significantly; improve a situation drastically

Fare miracoli

Do the donkey work Being responsable for all the hard work

Fare il lavoro più ingrato, faticoso

Do more harm than good

Cause more problems rather than improving the situation

Fare più male che bene

There’s no harm in trying (Prov.)

used to say that something seems reasonable

Tentar non nuoce

Different ways of looking at somethingVerb Meaning

Glimpse A look at sb/sth for a very short time, when you do not see the person or thing completely

occhiata, sguardo veloce intravedere, vedere di sfuggita

Gaze To look steadily, intently, and with fixed attention

sguardo m. fisso; fissare con ammirazione, contemplare

Stare To look at sb/sth for a long time

Fissare qn, qc

Glance To look quickly at sb/sth.

Occhiata, sguardo rapido

Blink Close the eyelids rapidly.Es: in the blink of an eye = very quickly

battito m. di ciglia;in the ~ of an eye in un batter d'occhio

Weep Cry Piangere

Wink Close one eyelid only strizzare l’occhio, sbattere le ciglia, ammiccare

Glare Look in an angry way To stare fixedly and angrily

Peep To look quickly and secretely at sth

Sbirciare

Peer Look closely at (as if trying to see more clearly)

Fissare qc da vicino

Expressions with light and darkLight at the end of the tunnel

A sign that a difficult period will finish

Vedere la luce in fondo al “tunnel” , un periodo difficile che sta per finire

Keep someone in the dark

Withold information from s/o

Non dire i dettagli su qc intenzionalmente

Make light of something

Not take sth seriously Non prende qc seriamente

Go out like a light Fall asleep immediately

Addormentarsi di colpo

A leep in the dark A risk with unknown consequences

Un salto nel buio

Expression Meaning Italiano

The bright lights The excitement and entertainment of the city

Agitazione, intrattenimento, divertimento della città

Come to light Be revealed Essere rivelato

See the light Understand and realise you have been wrong.

“Aprire gli occhi su qc”, accorgersi

A dark horse A mysterious person; a person who doesn’t tell other people much about oneself, and who surprises people by having interesting qualities.

Una persona misteriosa. Qn che non parla molto di se stesso, ma sorprende gli altri avendo delle interessanti qualità