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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > Looking for an Idiom (Broad hint)
Looking for an Idiom (Broad hint)
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libertybelle
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Mariethe!!
Breathing down ones neck means something else.
It means someone is pacing you to work faster or is on your back about something.
It �s pressuring someone to hurry up.
L
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14 Jul 2011
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Mariethe House
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Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Thank you Liz! So that �s what they were doing! i am glad I resisted!
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14 Jul 2011
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Mietz
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BTW - in "my" part of Germany we "wave with a fence post" - if it �s just a small hint. We "wave with a lamp post / lamp pole" if somebody really is not getting a message. We don �t "winken mit der Dachlatte" or "dem Scheunentoor (barn door)".
However - it �s not just about wanting people to leave. It �s more like having to give just one too many far too obvious hints - whatever the occasion. The other day one of my very beginner students just couldn �t come up with the spelling for "Saturday" during a test. Well - we have a chain here called "Saturn" selling electrical appliances. So I said in German - "The competitor of �Media Markt �..." That is just another example for "waving with a lamp pole". 
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14 Jul 2011
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libertybelle
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Mietz - having people leave was just an example - this expression can be used in many situations. The main thing is that people just don �t get the hint - so matter if it �s subtle or yelled from the highest hill !!
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14 Jul 2011
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douglas
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A slight correction Liberty--The main thing here is that the hint is VERY obvious.
Mietz--Barn Door (Scheunetuer) is Bavarian and Dachlatte is what my colleague used (Schleswig-Holstein) |
14 Jul 2011
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ballycastle1
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The only expression that comes to mind is �with as much subtelty as a slap in the face �. |
15 Jul 2011
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douglas
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Thanks Bally,
"as subtle as a slap in the face" gets pretty close.
In the end, I think I will add Liberty �s new idiom to my vocabulary:
"to hint with a ton of bricks"
Douglas |
15 Jul 2011
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