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A Study of the Problems of Learning and Translating Idioms
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Idioms are a very important part of the English language: you are told that if you want to go far (succeed) you should pull your socks up (make a serious effort to improve your behaviour, the quality of your work, etc.) and use your grey matter (brain).1 Learning and translating idioms have always been very difficult for foreign language learners. The present paper explores some of the reasons why English idiomatic expressions are difficult to learn and translate. It is not the aim of this paper to attempt a comprehensive survey of the vast amount of material that has appeared on idioms in Adams and Kuder (1984), Alexander (1984), Dixon (1983), Kirkpatrick (2001), Langlotz (2006), McCarthy and O'Dell (2002), and Wray (2002), among others. The paper concentrates on idioms as a learning-translation problem; it makes no claim to be comprehensive or academically rigorous. Leech (1989) defines an idiom as follows: “An idiom is a group of two or more words which we have to treat as a unit in learning a language. We cannot arrive at the meaning of the idiom just by adding together the meanings of the words inside it. E.g.John and Mary usedto be hardup (='They had very little money'.)”(P.186) To be more exact, an idiom is a sequence of words which is semantically and syntactically restricted, so that they function as a single unit. From a semantic point of view, the meanings of the individual words cannot be summed to produce the meanings of the idiomatic expression as a whole. Thus, fly off the handle, which means lose one's temper, cannot be understood in terms of the meanings of fly, off, or handle. The idiom phrase hot air, which means empty or boastful talk, is neither hot nor air; with hot air we are dealing with a set phrase where the meaning cannot be suggested on the basis of the two constituent words. The idiomatic meaning of spill the beans in So who spilt the beans (=told the secret) about her affair with David? has nothing to do with beans or with spilling in its literal sense. The foreign-language learner is left trying to figure out where and how the beans were spilt. From a syntactic viewpoint, the constituent parts of an idiom often do not permit the usual variability they display in other contexts. The point to be emphasized here is this: most idioms do not lend themselves easily to manipulation by speakers and writers; they are invariable and must be learned as wholes, but concord ofnumber, person and gender in the idiom phrase is still necessary, i.e. the verbs must be put into the correct form, and pronouns must agree with their antecedents: I don't give a hoot for her opinion! 2 • She doesn't give a hoot for my opinion! etc.)║He won, but only by the skin of his teeth2• She won, but only by the skin of her teeth• Iwon, but only by the skin ofmy teeth,I had to run for the train, and caught it by the skin of myteeth, etc.║He kept pullingmy arm, throwing me off my balance 2 • She kept pulling his arm, throwing him off his balance • We kept pullingher arm, throwingher offher balance, etc.2 The present paper is divided into five parts, as follows: Part I: An Overview; PART II: Learner’s Difficulties with Idioms; PART III: Some Pedagogical recommendations and Suggestions about Idioms; Part IV: Activities to Practice Idiomatic Expressions; Part V: Summary and Conclusion.

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Publication Date
Sun Jul 13 2025
Journal Name
Mustansiriya Medical Journal
The Pattern Of Skin Diseases Among Kindergarten Children In Baghdad. A Comparative Study Between Two Surveys Five Years Apart
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Publication Date
Sun Sep 15 2024
Journal Name
Journal Of Baghdad College Of Dentistry
The reliability of insertion torque as an indicator for primary stability in immediate dental implant: A prospective clinical study
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Background: The primary stability of the dental implant is a crucial factor determining the ability to initiate temporary implant-supported prosthesis and for subsequent successful osseointegration, especially in the maxillary non-molar sites. This study assessed the reliability of the insertion torque of dental implants by relating it to the implant stability quotient values measured by the Osstell device. Material and methods: This study included healthy, non-smoker patients with no history of diabetes or other metabolic, or debilitating diseases that may affect bone healing, having non-restorable fractured teeth and retained roots in the maxillary non-molar sites. Primary dental implant stability was evaluated using a torque ratc

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Publication Date
Wed Oct 31 2018
Journal Name
International Journal Of Research In Pharmaceutical Sciences
The impact of systemic hypertension-related heart remodeling on right ventricle mechanics: A two-dimensional echocardiographic speckle tracking study
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Publication Date
Sat Jan 20 2024
Journal Name
Ibn Al-haitham Journal For Pure And Applied Sciences
Theoretical Study of the Lasing Output for a Quasi-Three-Level Operation in Nd 3+:YAG Thin- Disk Laser
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In this research, the effect of each of the concentrations ( Nd+3) was studied (N) the thickness of the thin disk (d) the number of times that the pumping beam passes through the effective medium of this laser (Mp) the reflectivity of the laser output mirror (R 2) The losses of the effective medium (L) and the pumping power used in achieving the reverse qualification (PP) on each of the pumping threshold capacities (Pp.th) and the output power of the laser (Pout) and the efficiency (ŋ) in Nd3+ thin-disk lasers (TDLs) pumping quasi-three-level With continuous operation (cw), at room temperature, and in the Gaussian mode (TEM00),

We found under these opera

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Publication Date
Wed Jan 01 2020
Journal Name
Proceedings Of The 2020 2nd International Conference On Sustainable Manufacturing, Materials And Technologies
Agricultural extension system industrial managers in the light of their training needs to face job stress - A field study
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Publication Date
Wed Aug 13 2014
Journal Name
Journal Of Biotechnology Research Center
In Vivo Study for Measuring the Toxicity of Heat Stable Enterotoxin (a) Produced by Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli in Mice
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This research was conducted to measure the safety of heat stable enterotoxin a (STa) produced by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, through studying its toxic effect on mice since it showed a promising effect in reducing the proliferation of colorectal cancer cells. The cytogenetic effect was determined after giving five different doses (100, 200, 400, 800 and 1600)μg/Kg in comparison with negative (phosphate buffer saline / PBS) and positive (mitomycin C/ MMC, at doses of 2 and 5μg/Kg) controls on mouse bone marrow cells by employing the following parameters: mitotic index, chromosomal aberrations and micronucleus, also, the serum level of liver functional enzymes (GOT, GPT, ALP) was recorded. In addition, lethal dose 50 (LD 50) with cert

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Publication Date
Fri Dec 01 2017
Journal Name
Journal Of Economics And Administrative Sciences
Office managers skills and it's impact on the effectiveness of time management A survey of a sample of departments managers in the institutes and faculties at the middle technical university
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The objective of this study is to highlight the skills of office managers and it's impact on the effectiveness of time management in the institutes and faculties of middle technical university and a group of cognitive and practical aims. The managers skills forms mthe modern trend and the main source to provide organizations with highly skilled managers with distinctive performance and because of the sharp changes in the environment which today's organizations works in it , business organizations generally and managers especially realise the importance of time management and it's role in achieving competitive advantage . The problem of this study raised from this point which reflect the extent of departments managers realisation

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Publication Date
Sun Jul 13 2025
Journal Name
Journal Of Baghdad College Of Dentistry
Prediction the widths of maxillary and mandibular canines and premolars from the widths of maxillary incisors and first molars (Iraqi study)
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Background: This study aimed to use the combined mesio-distal crowns widths of maxillary incisors and first molars as predictors to the combined mesio-distal crowns widths of maxillary and mandibular canines and premolars. Materials and methods: The sample included 110 Iraqi Arab subjects with an age ranged between 17-25 years and class I skeletal and dental relations. The crown widths of maxillary teeth and mandibular canines and premolars were measured at the largest mesio-distal dimension on the study casts using digital electronic caliper with 0.01 mm sensitivity. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to determine the relation between the combined mesio-distal crowns widths of maxillary incisors and first molars and the combined

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Publication Date
Sat May 01 2021
Journal Name
Journal Of Physics: Conference Series
The Homomorphism of a cubic set of a semigroup in a KU-algebra
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Abstract<p>The study of homomorphisms in cubic sets is considered one of the important concepts that transfer algebraic properties between different structures, so we study a homomorphism of a cubic set of a semigroup in a KU-algebra and defined the product of two cubic sets in this structure. Firstly, we define the image and the inverse image of a cubic set in a KU-semigroup and achieve some results in this notion. Secondly, the Cartesian product of cubic subsets in a KU-semigroup is discussed and some important characteristics are proved.</p>
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Publication Date
Sun Feb 18 2024
Journal Name
Fitness, Performance And Health Journal
A Comparative Study of Some Types of Muscular Strength Among Middle-Distance Runner Athletes
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The research aims to conduct a comparative study between the events (800) m and (1500) m track in the types of muscular strength and to identify the differences between them among Iraqi sports club players. The sample represented the players participating in the Iraqi Athletics Championship for the period between (02/11/2023) and (04 /11/2023), and their number was (16) players (8) for each event, as the selection was made intentionally.  The researchers used the descriptive approach to achieve the goal of the research and used the statistical package (SPSS) to process the data statistically. According to the results collected, it was found that there was superiority among the intermediate track players (800) m in explosive power and the s

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