 |
| [house plan] |
Home is where the heart is. Apparently, as in most domestic situations, all those feelings
are somewhat at the expense of logic and consistency, at least in terms of
language. While non-native English speakers can easily remember the names of
the various elements of a house and their literal meanings, they often struggle
the more figurative senses of these terms. It is possible to understand these expressions through the prism of a
meeting of a board of directors or the exact material involved but more often
only by context. In my opinion, this partial logic makes English an
entertaining and human language.
In a formal meeting of directors, the chair, i.e., the person
leading the session, may table a motion. Curiously, in the US this term
means to take it off the agenda while in the UK it means to discuss it. In the
first case, the reasons for avoiding a discussion range from it being so off-the-wall,
ridiculous, that it would be absurd to waste time on the matter or, more
sinisterly, the chairperson received money under the table, a bribe, not
to discuss it. The criminal involved would rather sweep it under the rug,
make it disappear, at least visually. On the other hand, if the members do
discuss the issue, some may consider it a window of opportunity (even
though most people do not enter a house through a window if you think about
it). It could open the door to a better future, allowing it to happen.
Opponents, by contrast, fear that it would slam the door on a better
opportunity. The mere thought of adopting the motion makes them hit the roof
and get very angry. Of course, interested people wait for white smoke to
come out, meaning that the board has made a decision one way or another.
Sometimes the material or location provides a clue to the meaning. A
pioneering person can break a glass ceiling, a illusionary limit that a society has
placed on that person. In matters of window covering, a curtain call
involves a very large amount of fabric as used at the theatre. So, it means
getting a second round of applause at the theatre. On the same note, if it is curtains
for the villain, the curtain has come down, ending his/ her plot or even life.
On an even larger scale, the iron curtain was the political and military
barrier separating the Soviet Union and its allies from the West. Today, its
form tends to be electronic and virtual but that is a matter for another
discussion. Regarding police matters, a stool pigeon may see a bit vague
until you see a pigeon tied to a stool in the field as was done in the 1800’s
to hunt those birds. The police still use this aviary tool in a way by placing an
informer. Back to the house, if your sports team is in the basement (which is
the almost annual place of my favorite teams), they are in last place in the
division. By contrast, a bargain basement is where department stores
sometimes concentrate their discounted products to get rid of them and implies cheap items. Details
matter.
Alas, there are terms that simply have to understood in context. A couch
potato rarely moves from the sofa, watching TV and eating all day.
Regarding the ground below you, flooring a pedal means pushing the
accelerator to the maximum while being floored by the news involves
falling to the ground. Pharmacies can sell an over-the-counter (OTC) drug without a prescription. Since the
1940’s and Curtis LeMay, some Airforce generals insist that carpet bombing,
the general destruction of a city or country,
will persuade a population to surrender. Remember the classic definition
of insanity: doing something over and over again, expecting a different result
each time. If you are in the dog house, it means that you are not
feeling loved and welcome at home. Of course, every pub visitor loves it when
the drinks are on the house, i.e., free. These expressions make some
sense in a certain sense.
I hope you enjoyed the tour of the house and will find it easier to
navigate through the rooms. If a home is a castle, an English house is rather peculiar,
with many quirks but also much character (which is a synonym for wooden beams
on real estate TV programs). If English is not your native language, I hope I
furnished you with some knowledge of useful idioms. It make you feel more at home in the English language.
No comments:
Post a Comment