Welcome Spring! It has been a long, cold winter but it looks like spring has dug itself out of a snow bank and is now warming us up with some sunshine.
Amjambo Africa is pleased to welcome a new column. Each month, Let’s Talk will focus on sayings that might sound funny or confusing to a new language learner.
So if you have ever thought “What did they mean by that?” Or “What are they trying to say?” this column is for you.
This month’s Let’s Talk is talking Spring. Here are four idioms — expressions in which the meanings of the individual words are not the meaning of the saying— that focus on objects found in springtime.
Busy Bee- A person who enjoys being very active.
Nadine works full-time, has six children and volunteers at her community women’s group. She is a very busy bee.
Put all your eggs in one basket– To put all of your efforts into one opportunity generally at the risk of losing everything if it fails.
Mark put all his eggs in one basket when he only applied to one job.
The grass is always greener (on the other side.) Thinking that other’s lives or belongings are more desirable than your own.
Reading through your friends’ Facebook posts may seem like the grass is always greener on the other side.
No spring chicken- Not youthful. I’m no spring chicken anymore so I can’t stay up past 9:00 p.m.
So if you have questions about sayings you have heard Americans use that you don’t understand, please email your questions to Claudia at [email protected] and “Let’s Talk” will be happy to help.
Claudia Jakubowski is a New Mainer. She moved to Portland in 2017 and currently splits her time between NY and ME. She has her masters degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.) She has taught both adults and young adults and looks forward to sharing her love of language with others. She enjoys photography, reading, running and traveling. If you have any English language questions for Claudia, please email them to [email protected]
