English Idioms

Have you ever wondered where a phrase comes from or why we still use these turn of phrases. There are countless to pick from, but let's take a look at some of our favorites!

• Diamond in the rough - A person or thing with exceptional qualities or characteristics that cannot be seen from the surface.
• Cut a rug - to dance.
• My two cents- One’s own opinion or perspective.
• You can say that again - That is very true, an expression of wholehearted agreement.

Here is where they get fun, when it comes to the origin of the phrase.

It’s raining Cats and Dogs- To describe Heavy Rain. This turn of phrase comes from a time of straw roofs and animals of all kinds including cats and dogs would sleep on the roof of the home. When heavy rain would come, you could actually have cats and dogs coming down. At this time the canopy bed became very popular.

Don’t throw the baby out in the Bathwater: Don’t discard something valuable or important while disposing of something worthless.
This phrase dates back to the 1500’s as a nice warm bath was scarce and not always available. So when the family had the chance to take a bath, it would start with the father (man of the house) and work the way down through the oldest child to the baby. And of course, after several people bathed in the water, the baby was last and the water would be so dark and cloudy. You could easily lose the baby in the water.

Although we hear new words and phrases daily, these idioms have carried us through the years, and we expect them to be around for a long long time.