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ESL forum >
Ask for help > english idiom
english idiom
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Sunnykids
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english idiom
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i�m looking for an English idiom meaning: the things that are nice but too familiar to us will not be as attractive as the new things. Please help! Thank you |
29 May 2019
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ldthemagicman
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Sunnykids: 1) "Familiarity breeds contempt." 2) "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." 3) "He is part of the furniture." 4) "We need a breath of fresh air." 5) "A new broom sweeps clean." 6) "Off with the old, on with the new." 7) "Don�t give up your day-job!" 8) "To change your tune." 9) "To turn against someone, or something." 10) "To make a U-turn." Les Douglas |
29 May 2019
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spinney
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Wow! Les really came up with the goods for that one. There is also this, but it may not be precisely what you are looking for. In fact, it is almost the opposite. |
29 May 2019
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Julie_May
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How about Beauty is only skin deep. But that refers only to people if I�m not mistaken |
30 May 2019
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spradley03
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"the devil you know is better than the devil you don�t know." - refers to people or situations |
30 May 2019
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ldthemagicman
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Sunnykids, here are some more idioms: 1) "Do not put all your eggs in one basket." 2) "It is cheap at half the price." 3) "Let us approach this from a different angle". 4) "Every cloud has a silver lining." 5) "To pull something out of the hat." 6) "To clutch at straws." 7) "Desperate times need desperate measures." 8) "To jump on the bandwagon." 9) "If there is no pain, there is no gain." 10 "That is nothing more than a red herring." Les Douglas
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30 May 2019
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ldthemagicman
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Sunnykids, I hope that you like this. The house with the golden windows by Stephen on February 25, 2010The little girl lived in a small, very simple, poor house on a hill and as she grew she would play in the small garden and as she grew she was able to see over the garden fence and across the valley to a wonderful house high on the hill � and this house had golden windows, so golden and shining that the little girl would dream of how magic it would be to grow up and live in a house with golden windows instead of an ordinary house like hers. And although she loved her parents and her family, she yearned to live in such a golden house and dreamed all day about how wonderful and exciting it must feel to live there. When she got to an age where she gained enough skill and sensibility to go outside her garden fence, she asked her mother is she could go for a bike ride outside the gate and down the lane. After pleading with her, her mother finally allowed her to go, insisting that she kept close to the house and didn�t wander too far. The day was beautiful and the little girl knew exactly where she was heading! Down the lane and across the valley, she rode her bike until she got to the gate of the golden house across on the other hill. As she dismounted her bike and lent it against the gate post, she focused on the path that lead to the house and then on the house itself and was so disappointed as she realised all the windows were plain and rather dirty, reflecting nothing other than the sad neglect of the house that stood derelict. So sad, she didn�t go any further, and turned, heart broken as she remounted her bike. As she glanced up she saw a sight to amaze her. There across the way on her side of the valley was a little house and its windows glistened golden as the sun shone on her little home. She realised that she had been living in her golden house and all the love and care she found there was what made her home the �golden house�. Everything she dreamed was right there in front of her nose!
Les Douglas
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30 May 2019
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starrr
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Nice story, I wonder what kind of questions could we ask students about this text and theme? Any ideas?  |
1 Jun 2019
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starrr
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Nice story, I wonder what kind of questions could we ask students about this text and theme? Any ideas? |
1 Jun 2019
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cunliffe
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It�s a great story and I am going to do a ws on it, when I get home, in a week�s time, unless somebody else beats me to it. It lends itself readily to a simple reading comprehension, using all the question words. You could set it as a cloze - take out key words. Or ask students to supply adjectives. If I was teaching it, I�d start with a diagram, I�d have a river between the houses, so a boat ride or a swim would figure... But you could stick with the original and also build it up: what did the girl look like, why was she so unhappy, what kind of bike... really add to the narrative... So, we�d start with a narrative, asking the students to recap and re-phrase, before doing any writing. A verbal True or False would be good. I would advise a hot seat activity. For more advanced students, ask them to write alternative versions of the story. For those needing a bit more help, a storyboard would be good. Or give them the first half and ask them to predict the ending....
Follow up would be to have the students as the girl in the story and write it up as a diary entry, or they could make in into an interview. As well as drawing out the moral of the tale, maybe you could compare and contrast it with a fable from the great Aesop.
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2 Jun 2019
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