Reader Opinions
Andy Hobson – (turn the tables) November 19, 2020
I was told that turning the tables came from times when the table was used to prepare food and then turned over to the polished side to eat the food (a quote coming from the guide in Anne Hathaway’s cottage Stratford On Avon).
Ahmad Ghareeb – (too many cooks spoil the broth) November 18, 2020
In Egypt we say: “Two captains on the ship will sink it.”
Jim S. – (break a leg) November 18, 2020
The most common theory refers to an actor breaking the “leg line” of the stage. In the early days of theater, this is where ensemble actors were queued to perform. If actors were not performing, they had to stay behind the “leg line,” which also meant they wouldn’t get paid.
If you were to tell the actor to “break a leg,” you were wishing them the opportunity to perform and get paid.
Chenyi Zhu – (cold sweat) November 18, 2020
When you are scared, you sweat. Sweat is to make you feel less hot when you are exercising, so if you are not hot (like when you are nervous) and sweat, you feel cold.
Chenyi Zhu – (get a life) November 18, 2020
Get a life is a kind of like describing someone who works almost 24/7 like a machine. Machines do not have an actual life so, to be human, you must get a life.
Adilia – (sell like hot cakes) November 17, 2020
Sell like hotcakes = Laris terjual (in Malay)
Parker – (curiosity killed the cat) November 13, 2020
It means that asking to many questions can get you in trouble.
Kaeliean – (the eleventh hour) November 12, 2020
When they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. Great explanation. Thank you.
Robbie – (over the moon) November 12, 2020
Hey Diddle Diddle, the cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the Moon.
Anonymous – (the devil is in the detail) November 12, 2020
Gustav Flaubert is a French novelist who is thought to have used the phrase. Mies Van der Rohe is the architect who popularized it
