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Idioms- Buttering Someone Up

November 22, 2008 Culture, Global Learning, Idioms, World Languages No Comments

According to the Cambridge dictionary there is a difference between metaphors and idoms.

definition of idiom:

“a group of words whose meaning considered as a unit is different from the meanings of each word considered separately.”

definition of metaphor:

“an expression that describes a person or object by referring to something that is considered to possess similar characteristics.”

Looks like I have confused metaphors with idioms. I have not posted  metaphors idioms on Langwitches in a while. Looks like that I am going through phases when I use more or less metaphors idioms in my daily communications.

Metaphors Idioms are one of the things I have the most trouble with when I am in conversation with monolingual people. Using metaphors idioms conjure up images that when translated into a different language make PERFECT sense to my brain, but only earn confused looks or laughter from the others.

This one came up yesterday in a conversation:

Smearing honey around someone’s mouth (from German “Jemanden Honig um den Mund schmieren”)

After a few laughs, we settled that the English equivalent of the metaphor would be to

Buttering someone up

BTW, that visual is equally funny for a non- English speaker :)

Buttering someone up (or smear honey around their mouth) means, that you give him plenty of compliments or agree with his/her in order to get what you want.

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