Most students love learning idioms. Idioms are fun, and the more idioms we use, the more natural we sound, right?
Well, yes and no. Using idioms to increase your IELTS score can often have the opposite effect. I learnt this lesson the hard way when I was doing my French degree and living in France.
I had picked up the word ‘patates’ (the equivalent of ‘spuds’ in English), after hearing my flatmates use it, and I thought it was very cool.
“Don’t say that Fiona. It sounds weird when you say it” they said.
And they were right.
Idioms can be a real minefield (= a situation presenting unseen dangers); even ‘native speakers’ get them wrong.
Should I use idioms in IELTS?
An idiom is a phrase or expression where the real meaning is not guessable/predictable from the usual meaning and to use an idiom correctly there are so many factors that you have to take into account, for example
- who uses this idiom (age, gender, profession, location)?
- when do they use this idiom? (context)
- why do they choose to use this idiom (humour, anger, sarcasm, style)?
- how often do people use this idiom (once in a blue moon?)
I’ve noticed that UK soap operas often give the ‘non-native speaker’ characters idioms that make them stand out as foreigners.
The other day, Alina, a female 20-something Romanian beautician in with excellent English skills was given the line ‘Sling your hook’.
Although she said it perfectly accurately, it sounded wrong. Why? Probably because it was used by the wrong person in the wrong context at the wrong time for the wrong reason.
This is the problem with idioms. Even when they are 100% correct, they can sound out of place or unnatural if you’re not careful.
Before you decide to use idioms in your Speaking or Writing (General Training Task 1) test, it is important that you are aware of the dangers.
3 things you need to get right when using idioms
Let’s look at the “Sling your hook” idiom. Who would naturally say this?
It used to be associated with male London dockers in the 1930s and it is usually said in a certain way (aggressively): “Sling yer ‘ook”.
So this idiom belongs to a certain gender, age, class, location, date and possibly profession.
If you’re not the ‘type’ of person who would use that idiom, or if you’re not using it in the right context, it can sound completely wrong.
So here are the 3 main things you need to consider when using idioms:
- Accuracy
- Appropriacy of context and register
- Pronunciation
Let’s look at each of these in more detail.https://player.vimeo.com/video/585696702?color&autopause=0&loop=0&muted=0&title=1&portrait=1&byline=1#t=
[Video clip from BBC 3’s hit comedy series ‘Gavin and Stacey’, where we can see the idiom ‘sling your hook’ being used for comic effect].
1. Accuracy
Idioms are mostly fixed expressions, so if you make the SLIGHTEST mistake, the idiom sounds wrong and even comical.
For example, you cannot say ‘Sling your hooks’ or ‘I want to sling my hook’.
Here are some inaccurate examples that I’ve collected from bad advice on social media.
Can you work out what’s wrong with them?
- ‘Talk to my hand’*
- ‘I’m having a bun in my oven’*
- ‘You will pass with a flying colour’*
- ‘Many people are without sufficient earnings to make their ends meet’.*
- ‘Cloning has become a rage all over the world’.*
- ‘I wanted to take the test but I got a cold foot’.*
- ‘I have some time on my hand’.*
- ‘I’m on 9 clouds’.*
- ‘The early birds catch the worms’*.
- I have a green finger*.
2. Appropriacy
The biggest problem with idioms is that you need a deep understanding of how and where they can be used.
You can’t just add them willy-nilly in the hope that they will boost your vocabulary score.
- Some idioms are age-specific: a teenager can say ‘sick’ ( = ‘good’) but I can’t. (Even this is a matter of opinion. The ‘rules’ are unclear.)
- Some idioms depend on who you’re speaking to and under what circumstances e.g. you wouldn’t say ‘I’m sorry your goldfish kicked the bucket’ (= died)
- Some idioms are spoken but rarely written. (e.g. for donkey’s years = for a long time)
- Some idioms are used ironically, for humour or entertainment (e.g. ‘sling your hook’).
- Some idioms are out-dated and belong to a different era (e.g. ‘It’s raining cats and dogs’)
- Some idioms are so over-used that they have become cliches (old and tired). People often can’t be bothered to say the whole thing, so they say just half of it e.g. ‘Every cloud….’
Here are some accurate but misplaced idioms I’ve seen recently. What do you think may be the problem?
- ‘I feel over the moon when I go to the market’.
- ‘I saw a famous person once in a blue moon.’
- ‘You should go by bike to be as fit as a fiddle’.
- ‘I like to go there because it’s my cup of tea’.
- ‘Can you shed some light on my essay?’
- ‘Have some time on your hands next week’
3. Pronunciation
Idioms have to be dropped into conversation naturally and spontaneously without sounding laboured or forced.
The problem with an idiom like ‘Sling your hook’ is that ‘your’ is a weak form and becomes /jə/ in fast speech, and if the ‘h’ is dropped, there will be an intrusive r sound, hence ‘Sling yer ook’.
Idioms have to be said using all the features of fast, connected speech e.g.
‘It cost an arm and a leg’ = /ə nˈɑ:m ə nə leɡ/