An idiom is a phrase whose wording is either wholly or partly fixed and which cannot be understood simply from taking the literal meanings of the individual words which make up the phrase. Thus, idiomatically, if you kill two birds with one stone it does not mean that you are going around murdering birds, but that you are achieving two aims with one action.The English language is particularly rich in idioms and they are an aspect of English which learners of the language find particularly difficult.This book features many well-known and used idioms in the English language today, from the acid test and a chip off the old block, through sing from the same hymn sheet to zero hour.Arranged in dictionary format, the idioms featured here are all given clear explanations and are accompanied by example sentences to show how they are used. Also included are the origins of some of the idioms and readers are likely to find many of these unusual and fascinating.As well as being a source of useful information and language help, this book is fun to browse through.

From credit crunch to golden parachute, barking up the wrong tree to storm in a tea cup in this book, Gordon Jarvie explains all you need to know about these and 3,000 other common English idioms. Packed with nuggets of fascinating information, the Bloomsbury Dictionary of Idioms traces the origins of these phrases, explains meanings and gives examples of up-to-date usage. Ideal for word buffs and English students alike, this book will help all users of English to mind their (linguistic) ps and qs.