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6. Idioms: Like Two Peas in a Pod
2011/09/25 06:03
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1. Like Two Peas in a Pod
Kyle and his brother are like two peas in a pod.

Meaning: identical; alike in looks and behavior

Origin: A pod is a seedcase that holds beans or peas.  When it is ripe, the pod splits open to let go of what's inside.  Peas lying cozily in a pod seem alike in shape and color.

2. Up a Creek Without a Paddle
Holly lost her costume, and the play is tonight.  She's up a creek without a paddle.

Meaning: in deep trouble and unable to do anything about it; in serious trouble

Origin: Imagine being in a rowboat on a river or creek far from home and you lose your oar!  That's the picture painted by this early 20th century idiom.


3. Wet Blanket
I hope Terry doesn't come to the amusement park with us---he's such a wet blanket.

Meaning: a person who spoils other people's fun by being depressing, dull, sour, nagging, or humorless

Origin: This is an early 19th-century expression.  Native Americans and others often put out their campfires with blankets they had dipped in the nearest river.  If fire represents enthusiasm, excitement, passion, and joy, then the wet blanket that puts out the fire stands for a pessimist or spoilsport.  A person acting like that will rain on your parade.

4. Smell a Rat
Although everything looked all right, the investigator smelled a rat.

Meaning: to be suspicious; to feel that something is wrong

Origin: Rats are among the most unpopular animals.  When most people think of rats, they think of disgusting, wicked, horrible images.  Cats have been sniffing out rats for thousands of years, and in the mid-1500s the phrase "smell a rat" was used for human beings who suspected ("smelled") that something illegal, evil or sinful ("a rat") had taken place.

5. Word of Mouth
The movie got bad reviews, but it became popular by word of mouth.

Meaning: by one person telling another; by speaking, rather than writing

Origin: If people see something they like or don't like, such as a movie, TV show, play, or book, and they tell their friends about it, the news is being spread by "word of mouth" instead of by television commercials, newspaper advertising, billboards, and other kinds of publicity.



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ISBN: 0-590-27552-6
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