Fun with English
I found the following passage on the Internet many years ago by an unknown author. It is very amusing. I added some of my own idioms to it. You may find all these idioms in my Penguin Dictionary of English Idioms. If you wrote this passage, please contact me.
HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT AT WORK WITHOUT DOING MUCH
A language lover’s guide to calorie-burning activities and the number of calories per hour they consume.
Beating about the bush 75
Jumping to conclusions 100
Swallowing your pride 50
Dragging your heels 100
Passing the buck 25
Hitting the nail on the head 50
Pulling out the stops 75
Turning up your nose 5
Elbowing your way through 150
Putting your foot in it 25
Kicking up a fuss 300
Throwing in the towel 100
Keeping the ball rolling 90
Falling between two stools 75
Surfing the net 500
Pulling strings 70
Passing the parcel 100
Bending over backwards 150
Jumping on the bandwagon 200
Running around in circles 350
Driving someone up the wall 150
Throwing your weight about
(depending on your weight) 50 - 300
Making mountains out of molehills 700
Climbing the ladder of success 750
Adding fuel to the fire 160
Pulling a face 7
Carrying a millstone round your neck 400
Breaking the back of a task 300
Running hard just to stand still 500
Swimming against the stream 600
Throwing someone in at the deep end 500
Squeezing the orange until the pips squeak 250
Throwing yourself into a part 400
Skating on slippery ice 600
Wrestling with a problem 700
Jumping down someone's throat 300
Putting your shoulder to the wheel 400
HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT AT HOME WITHOUT DOING MUCH
Here are some more calorie-burning activities and the number of calories per hour they consume.
Knitting your brows 50
Stretching your legs 100
Biting the carpet 150
Spilling the beans 85
Pulling up your socks 50
Splitting hairs 40
Digging your heels in 200
Jumping through hoops 400
Letting your hair down 50
Picking a bone with someone 100
Running your legs to jelly 700
Sweeping something under the carpet 600
Picking up the pieces 350
Burying your head in the sand 650
Making the mind boggle 100
Catching someone on the hop 400
You can find all these idioms and their definitions in my Penguin Dictionary of English Idioms. Just look up the nouns in these idioms in the index at the back of the book, for example, please look up: brows; legs; carpet; beans; socks; hairs; heels; hoops, and so on. It is nice and easy. You might like to make a list of your own idiomatic way to lose weight! Have fun!
SEVEN SECRETS OF SUCCESS
This is also very nice.
I found the answers in my room.
Roof said: Aim high
Fan said: Be cool
Clock said: Every minute is precious
Mirror said: Reflect before you act
Window said: See the world
Calendar said: Be up-to-date
Door said: Push hard to achieve your goals.
This text is from an unknown source. If you wrote this, please contact me.
