This does not mean literally stabbing someone in the back with a knife. That would send
you to jail for murder! The phrase means secretly betraying someone’s trust.
‘Spilled the beans’ or ‘let the cat out of the bag’
This is an extremely common phrase. It means to let out a secret. People accidently let
the ‘cat out of the bag’ all the time.
Nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs
This one is pretty self-explanatory. It
means to be extremely nervous, verging on
neurotic.
Butterflies in ones stomach
The feeling in your stomach right before an important job
interview or before a date
with a special someone; those are butterflies in your stomach. Not literally of course! It
means beings anxious.
Face the music
Facing the music does not literally mean turning around to face the source of the music;
it means to deal with the harsh reality. If you crossed the curfew set my your parents,
you are probably going to go home and face the music.
Cut to the chase
If you are telling your very American
friend a incident or story, and you are taking a
long time in explaining the unimportant part, your friend might say ‘cut to the chase’. It
means ‘hurry up and get to the main part of the story’. It
means ignoring the smaller
details and explaining the important part.
These are just a few examples of idioms. You would come across many more on your
journey towards learning English.
Colloquialism
Colloquialisms, like idioms, are important elements
in understanding the English
language. They are used in informal speech. However, colloquialism is not the same as
slang. According to Wikipedia, Slang refers to words
used only by specific social
groups, such as teenagers or soldiers. Examples of colloquialisms are ‘gonna’, ‘ain’t’,
‘what’s up?’ etc.