READING BETWEEN THE LINES

"Raining Cats and Dogs" by quartertofour - deviantART.com

I love language, and I had a ton of fun looking up American idioms for a short story I wrote today.  I found myself giggling in Starbucks with people around me wondering what I had up my sleeve.  It’s no wonder that the English language puts non-English speakers into a fog.

Here are a few of my favorites:

  • In like Flynn
  • A lost ball in the high weeds
  • One sandwich short of a picnic
  • Bean counter
  • Bless your pointy little head
  • Left-handed cigarette
  • Not enough room to swing a cat
  • Go down like a cup of cold sick
  • How long is a piece of string?

An unfamiliar one I came across was, “Use your loaf.”  I can’t wait to use that one on Fat Cat.  He’ll have a gas at that one.

One of the websites I came across had a funky font that was hard on the eyes.  “Sick as a dog,” became “Slick as a dog.”  “Icing on the cake,” looked like “Itching on the cake.”  Silly rabbit.

It gave me a crazy idea that I thought I’d run up the flagpole to see if anyone salutes.  Revise a common idiom and see what floats to the top.  And send them my way!  I’d love to read them!

P.S.  NaNoWriMo Update:  30,400 words.  I am over the moon!  🙂

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0 thoughts on “READING BETWEEN THE LINES

    • mybluescreen says:

      Hah! I love it! I’m using the leopard one the next time someone complains I never clean up after myself. Thanks!

    • mybluescreen says:

      It’s impossible to know them all. They’re always changing and always birthing themselves every minute of every day. I know “left-handed cigarette” might be a local term, referring to a marijuana cigarette. I found a lot that I hadn’t heard of, and plenty that were funny enough I wanted to revive into everyday use.

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