-
This forum contains old posts that have been closed. New threads and replies may not be made here. Please navigate to the relevant forum to create a new thread or post a reply.
Dainty Dose of Delightful Information
- Thread starter Visalakshi Ramani
- Start date
- Status
prasad1
Active member
A chained and domesticated elephant.
OP
OP
A real royal elephant
to be chained in GOLD!
Airaavat perhaps??? :noidea:
to be chained in GOLD!
Airaavat perhaps??? :noidea:
OP
OP
People living in ivory towers and
those surrounded by loving relatives
will not know how the power of tolerance
can also be stretched to its elastic limits.
those surrounded by loving relatives
will not know how the power of tolerance
can also be stretched to its elastic limits.
Last edited:
OP
OP
OP
OP
16. A little bird told me
When a person does not want to reveal the source
from he got an info he says "A little bird told me!"
17. Dog eating dog
A world of cut-throat competition where
each one thinks of none but himself!
18. Deer in a headlight
A person caught off guard, who has
little or no time to make a quick decision.
19. Curiosity killed the cat
Some people are nosy and must thrust in their nose in every issue.
This warns such people to keep off for their own good.
20. Big fish in a small pond
An important person placed in
an unimportant position or office.
When a person does not want to reveal the source
from he got an info he says "A little bird told me!"
17. Dog eating dog
A world of cut-throat competition where
each one thinks of none but himself!
18. Deer in a headlight
A person caught off guard, who has
little or no time to make a quick decision.
19. Curiosity killed the cat
Some people are nosy and must thrust in their nose in every issue.
This warns such people to keep off for their own good.
20. Big fish in a small pond
An important person placed in
an unimportant position or office.
A
Amirtha
Guest
ஆனைக்கும் அடி சறுக்கும்
ஆனை இருந்தாலும் ஆயிரம் பொன் , இறந்தாலும் ஆயிரம் பொன்
ஆனை வரும் பின்னே மணி ஓசை வரும் முன்னே
ஆனை இருந்தாலும் ஆயிரம் பொன் , இறந்தாலும் ஆயிரம் பொன்
ஆனை வரும் பின்னே மணி ஓசை வரும் முன்னே
Last edited by a moderator:
Raji Ram
Active member
Excuse me for posting this again!!
தமிழ் ஒரு கடினமான மொழி! நகர, னகர, ணகர வேறுபாடுகள்; லகர, ழகர, ளகர வேறுபாடுகள்;
ரகர, றகர வேறுபாடுகள் என்பவற்றைச் சரியாக அறிந்துகொள்ள, சில ஆண்டுகள் ஆகும்! கேட்கும்
தமிழை வைத்துக்கொண்டு எழுதவே இயலாது!
ஒரு ஆசிரியருக்கே தமிழ் மொழி எழுதத் தகராறு! மாணவன் அவரிடம் ' 'மரம்' என்று எழுத, சின்ன 'ர'வா,
பெரிய 'ற'வா?' என்று கேட்க, அவர் சின்ன மரத்துக்குச் சின்ன ர; பெரிய மரத்துக்குப் பெரிய ற என்றாராம்!!
உன் = your; உண் = eat;
பொன் = தங்கம்; பொண் = (பேச்சு வழக்கில்) பெண்
அரி = cut; அறி = know!
அரை = half; அறை = room / slap!
குலவி = கொஞ்சி; குளவி = wasp; குழவி = அரைக்கும் கல் / infant :baby:!
Last edited:
opcorn:
Raji Ram
Active member
For those who missed this interesting thread by Sri. Swaminathan...
யானை பற்றிய நூறு பழமொழிகள்
OP
OP
Trolling has many avatars.
It need not be weird images always.
It can be weird posts as well.
I myself have supplied enough proverbs
to corrupt my other threads for a very long long time!
It need not be weird images always.
It can be weird posts as well.
I myself have supplied enough proverbs
to corrupt my other threads for a very long long time!
Last edited:
OP
OP
Proverb is a short sentence of wisdom
born out of long experience.
Idioms and phrases are not complete sentences
but parts of longer sentences.
Quotations are complete sentences and have
the names of the authors following them
unless they are by Mr. Anon!!!
Little did I dream that my threads will become
free English grammar forum classes!
born out of long experience.
Idioms and phrases are not complete sentences
but parts of longer sentences.
Quotations are complete sentences and have
the names of the authors following them
unless they are by Mr. Anon!!!
Little did I dream that my threads will become
free English grammar forum classes!
A
Amirtha
Guest
#33.
பொன் / பொண் mistakes corrected. Thanks.
ஆனைக்கும் அடி சறுக்கும்!
பொன் / பொண் mistakes corrected. Thanks.
ஆனைக்கும் அடி சறுக்கும்!
A
Amirtha
Guest
VR Mami,
I hope you don't consider my post #32 as trolling. I meant them as idioms. When we say them, we don't really mean elephants, but something else.
Kind Regards.
I hope you don't consider my post #32 as trolling. I meant them as idioms. When we say them, we don't really mean elephants, but something else.
Kind Regards.
OP
OP
I am sure these 'idioms' will be found
among the list of proverbs given by Mrs. R.R.
and originally by Mr. London Swaminathan.
I do not have any confusion whatever about
the distinction between the three.
among the list of proverbs given by Mrs. R.R.
and originally by Mr. London Swaminathan.
I do not have any confusion whatever about
the distinction between the three.
Raji Ram
Active member
.... Quote removed from my post! :typing:
OP
OP
I have long since witnessed wanton mistakes purposely added to the posts
by great writers - just to irritate people who can not tolerate mistakes.
Well! It takes all types to make up this world ...
but I still wish that the % were different or reversed.
Hi VR,
From Wiki,
Idiom - expression consisting of a combination of words that have a figurative meaning..
Proverb - is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical
Metaphor - A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that describes a subject by asserting that it is, on some point of comparison, the same as another otherwise unrelated object
So, when we look at that, sometimes proverbs can be seen as idioms too. There is not much of a huge difference. Secondly, members are posting here just to take part in a discussion. I don't see the reason for your trying to split the hair. While idiom, proverb or metaphor may be able to replace each other at times, calling someone a 'troll' is positively degrading. Why are you taking such an heavy handed approach? What if few proverbs are posted? Would that ruin the 'purity' of this thread? Don't call anyone 'troll'. It is name calling. It is not nice.
Cheers!
Hi folks,
This is what I received from a friend of me, who is training people on mannerisms and body language. Speaking about idioms I thought this would be useful in this thread. Patiently read it fully or those who have poor attention span can , as usual, say TLTR(Too long to read) and move.
Getting it right can not only narrow the cultural divide, but actually help you to fit right in with your foreign associates
The other day I said to one of our lead trainers in cross-culture, “Neil, why don’t you come over tomorrow and we can shoot the breeze on some of the thoughts we had on the project.” He replied, “Sure, let’s chew the fat.”
These Americanisms leave me chuckling, but I also realise that as new managers, we are likely to come across idiomatic usage from so many different countries that we’re likely to be all at sea (read confused).
Idioms are used by all cultures. People of each background take these usages for granted, assume they’re universally understood, and often feel a mere literal translation will be enough to convey the same meaning to people of other backgrounds. But that’s not really s
ften, we end up getting the wrong end of the stick (which, of course, means misunderstanding what was meant) when our expat colleagues use idiomatic speech.
Piece of cake?
I’ve found myself in such a situation quite often. And often, I’ve had others telling me stories of how they’ve either misunderstood or been misunderstood. I’ve put together some of the common phrases in British and American English, as well as some popular usages from other countries, to give you a taste of how being on the same page isn’t a piece of cake!(Translate as: it isn’t easy for multiple people to understand the discussion the same way).
Let’s start with the things I misunderstood initially.Getting down to the wire — when my American client said this about his project,I thought it was something to do with having a slim chance and made suitable sympathetic noises, but it turned out to mean getting close to the deadline.
“Six of one, half a dozen of the other,” my sister in San Francisco replied when I asked her which was harder to get — admission in college or high school.What she meant was it’s the same. Same difference, as we say here in India
“Hey, tell me about this new office project team, I want the whole nine yards,” a client once said to me. I thought this expression had its origin in the sari, which was nine yards long, and set out to explain that it was commonly six yards these days. But the expression actually originated in their sport and meant “I want all the details.”
On the other hand, if someone tells you, “Let’s cut to the chase,” it means just the opposite, the same as “What’s the bottom line?”meaning, give me what I need to know in a nutshell. Rambling on after they use this phrase means we don’t “get it,” and the client is likely to find us tiresome.
Joe, a Canadian friend I was coaching in the intricacies of Indian etiquette, once threw up his hands and said to me with a groan, “I can’t win for losing,” by which he meant that no matter what he did, he could never be right in the Indians’ eyes!
Literally difficult
Again, you may think you know a language, but literal translation can leave you extremely confused.
An Indian fluent in English confessed he was puzzled by his expat boss, who repeatedly told his staff, “We can’t wait till the cows come home.”
“What cows? Is he using this because it’s India?” he asked. He was as amused as I was after I explained that the boss was only telling his team to hurry up. Indianisms can be just as confusing. One worried team leader from Singapore,whom we were training, asked at our session, “Why do Indians want to get intimate with me on e-mail?” We had to explain to her that when an Indian writes “I wish to intimate you…” It only means “I wish to inform you …”!
Sometimes, it may not be even a phrase, it could be a gesture, accompanied by one word. The Japanese and the Koreans use a similar mannerism — they sort of flex their biceps and accompany it with a word roughly translated as ‘fight’ or ‘fighting’. They don’t mean to pick a quarrel with you— they’re telling you to ‘Keep it up!’
Sure, knowing how to converse idiomatically with one’s colleagues, irrespective of nativity, is not as essential as communicating deadlines or project instructions; but it does add that extra layer to communication. It provides a foundation of cultural understanding that can prove invaluable to long-standing professional relationships.
Cultural foundation
Idioms and expressions like the ones I’ve told you about come from the fields of sport, lifestyles of yore or contemporary practices in specific ethnic cultures.
For instance, the French say ‘a meal without cheese is like a lovely girl with one eye’ — fine dining and fancy cuisine are so important to France that many expressions have their roots in food. Understanding this makes it easy to appreciate that three-hour business meals are the norm in their culture too! And remember, if you understand your French guest to say that he’s trying to accommodate the sheep and the cabbage, he’s only telling you that he’s trying to please both sides in the business deal.
Then there are the polite euphemisms that different cultures use. Go sakinishitsureishimasu…I am sorry to be leaving before you —is a very polite way of parting if you are leaving a party or event before the Japanese guest you met there. Je m’eclipse is a good show-off expression for France, which says the same thing, I am sorry I am leaving before you, I am going to eclipse my way out.
Familiarising yourself with such habits of speech may seem a trivial thing to focus on, but it goes a long way in cross-cultural relationship-building.
It lessens the ‘them’ and ‘us’ divide, and using appropriate idioms and expressions makes you feel like one of ‘us’. So, make time for idioms. Use less of your own, and understand, then emulate other country-specific ones.
This is what I received from a friend of me, who is training people on mannerisms and body language. Speaking about idioms I thought this would be useful in this thread. Patiently read it fully or those who have poor attention span can , as usual, say TLTR(Too long to read) and move.
Getting it right can not only narrow the cultural divide, but actually help you to fit right in with your foreign associates
The other day I said to one of our lead trainers in cross-culture, “Neil, why don’t you come over tomorrow and we can shoot the breeze on some of the thoughts we had on the project.” He replied, “Sure, let’s chew the fat.”
These Americanisms leave me chuckling, but I also realise that as new managers, we are likely to come across idiomatic usage from so many different countries that we’re likely to be all at sea (read confused).
Idioms are used by all cultures. People of each background take these usages for granted, assume they’re universally understood, and often feel a mere literal translation will be enough to convey the same meaning to people of other backgrounds. But that’s not really s
ften, we end up getting the wrong end of the stick (which, of course, means misunderstanding what was meant) when our expat colleagues use idiomatic speech.Piece of cake?
I’ve found myself in such a situation quite often. And often, I’ve had others telling me stories of how they’ve either misunderstood or been misunderstood. I’ve put together some of the common phrases in British and American English, as well as some popular usages from other countries, to give you a taste of how being on the same page isn’t a piece of cake!(Translate as: it isn’t easy for multiple people to understand the discussion the same way).
Let’s start with the things I misunderstood initially.Getting down to the wire — when my American client said this about his project,I thought it was something to do with having a slim chance and made suitable sympathetic noises, but it turned out to mean getting close to the deadline.
“Six of one, half a dozen of the other,” my sister in San Francisco replied when I asked her which was harder to get — admission in college or high school.What she meant was it’s the same. Same difference, as we say here in India
“Hey, tell me about this new office project team, I want the whole nine yards,” a client once said to me. I thought this expression had its origin in the sari, which was nine yards long, and set out to explain that it was commonly six yards these days. But the expression actually originated in their sport and meant “I want all the details.”
On the other hand, if someone tells you, “Let’s cut to the chase,” it means just the opposite, the same as “What’s the bottom line?”meaning, give me what I need to know in a nutshell. Rambling on after they use this phrase means we don’t “get it,” and the client is likely to find us tiresome.
Joe, a Canadian friend I was coaching in the intricacies of Indian etiquette, once threw up his hands and said to me with a groan, “I can’t win for losing,” by which he meant that no matter what he did, he could never be right in the Indians’ eyes!
Literally difficult
Again, you may think you know a language, but literal translation can leave you extremely confused.
An Indian fluent in English confessed he was puzzled by his expat boss, who repeatedly told his staff, “We can’t wait till the cows come home.”
“What cows? Is he using this because it’s India?” he asked. He was as amused as I was after I explained that the boss was only telling his team to hurry up. Indianisms can be just as confusing. One worried team leader from Singapore,whom we were training, asked at our session, “Why do Indians want to get intimate with me on e-mail?” We had to explain to her that when an Indian writes “I wish to intimate you…” It only means “I wish to inform you …”!
Sometimes, it may not be even a phrase, it could be a gesture, accompanied by one word. The Japanese and the Koreans use a similar mannerism — they sort of flex their biceps and accompany it with a word roughly translated as ‘fight’ or ‘fighting’. They don’t mean to pick a quarrel with you— they’re telling you to ‘Keep it up!’
Sure, knowing how to converse idiomatically with one’s colleagues, irrespective of nativity, is not as essential as communicating deadlines or project instructions; but it does add that extra layer to communication. It provides a foundation of cultural understanding that can prove invaluable to long-standing professional relationships.
Cultural foundation
Idioms and expressions like the ones I’ve told you about come from the fields of sport, lifestyles of yore or contemporary practices in specific ethnic cultures.
For instance, the French say ‘a meal without cheese is like a lovely girl with one eye’ — fine dining and fancy cuisine are so important to France that many expressions have their roots in food. Understanding this makes it easy to appreciate that three-hour business meals are the norm in their culture too! And remember, if you understand your French guest to say that he’s trying to accommodate the sheep and the cabbage, he’s only telling you that he’s trying to please both sides in the business deal.
Then there are the polite euphemisms that different cultures use. Go sakinishitsureishimasu…I am sorry to be leaving before you —is a very polite way of parting if you are leaving a party or event before the Japanese guest you met there. Je m’eclipse is a good show-off expression for France, which says the same thing, I am sorry I am leaving before you, I am going to eclipse my way out.
Familiarising yourself with such habits of speech may seem a trivial thing to focus on, but it goes a long way in cross-cultural relationship-building.
It lessens the ‘them’ and ‘us’ divide, and using appropriate idioms and expressions makes you feel like one of ‘us’. So, make time for idioms. Use less of your own, and understand, then emulate other country-specific ones.
Last edited:
OP
OP
21. All bark and no bite
When people appear noisy and threatening but could not cause really any harm
22. Bats in the belfry
When people are crazy and unnecessarily excited they are said to have bats in the belfry
23. A can of worms
A person opens a can of worms if his action is bound to cause a series of serious problems to him.
24. break the back of the beast
To accomplish a difficult task.
25. Bigger fish to fry
A person has bigger fish to fry when he has more important things to do
When people appear noisy and threatening but could not cause really any harm
22. Bats in the belfry
When people are crazy and unnecessarily excited they are said to have bats in the belfry
23. A can of worms
A person opens a can of worms if his action is bound to cause a series of serious problems to him.
24. break the back of the beast
To accomplish a difficult task.
25. Bigger fish to fry
A person has bigger fish to fry when he has more important things to do
OP
OP
26. Know a hawk from a handsaw
If someone is able to distinguish well between things and assess them corretly, he knows a hawk from a handsaw.
27. Bird's eye view
When we can see perfectly and clearly the whole thing, we have a bird's eye view of that thing.
28. Big fish
A big fish is an important person in an organization.
29. What can you expect from a hog but a grunt?
We can't expect people to behave in a way that does not match with their real character.
An unrefined person can't be expected to behave in a refined way with culture and etiquette.
30. Lord love a duck
An exclamation used when completely stunned and /or often dismayed.
If someone is able to distinguish well between things and assess them corretly, he knows a hawk from a handsaw.
27. Bird's eye view
When we can see perfectly and clearly the whole thing, we have a bird's eye view of that thing.
28. Big fish
A big fish is an important person in an organization.
29. What can you expect from a hog but a grunt?
We can't expect people to behave in a way that does not match with their real character.
An unrefined person can't be expected to behave in a refined way with culture and etiquette.
30. Lord love a duck
An exclamation used when completely stunned and /or often dismayed.
- Status
Share this page
Similar threads
- Locked
