Expressions with ‘Fruit’ and Fruit Names!
If you have watched the video “34 Fruit Names in English,” you know that there are a wide variety of fruit available in supermarkets here in Canada. In English, we also use names of fruit in a lot of phrases and idioms! Here are some examples:
Comparing apples and / to / with oranges
Apples and oranges are completely different: they look different, they taste different, and they smell different. You can’t compare them because they’re so different. If you ‘compare apples to oranges,’ you are comparing two very different things.
I’m a big fan of Twilight, and I prefer Jacob to Edward, but comparing vampires and werewolves is a bit like comparing apples and oranges.
The magazine article compared the performance of stocks to bonds last year, which is comparing apples to oranges.
Note: this expression only works using ‘apples’ and ‘oranges.’ In English, it’s a fixed expression, so you can’t use other fruit names.
The fruits of one’s labour
This idiom is used to talk about the result of someone’s labour, or someone’s work.
My sister spent a long time planning the family reunion, and now that the day is here she can enjoy the fruits of her labour.
Here it is! The fruits of my labour: a new post on ‘fruit idioms’!
It is interesting to note that this expression possibly came from the Bible:
Psalm 128:2 (NIV): You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.
to cherry pick
(verb)
To pick something means to choose or select something from a group; to cherry pick something means to choose or select only the best.
George Clooney is such a successful actor that he can now cherry pick the films he wants to do.
Should doctors be able to cherry-pick patients? (Headline, Globe and Mail newspaper)
Don’t cherry-pick NHS findings, minister. (Headline, Guardian newspaper)
Bananas
Not only is it a fruit, but you can also use bananas to mean ‘crazy’ or ‘excited’ or ‘angry.’
My mom went bananas when she found out I crashed her car. (angry/crazy)
I keep seeing the same commercial over and over again on TV. It’s driving me bananas! (crazy)
As soon as Justin Bieber appeared on stage, the crowd went bananas. (excited/crazy)
When life hands you / gives you lemons, make lemonade!
You can’t eat a lemon by itself. The taste is horrible. It’s very sour. However, you can use lemons to make a sweet drink called lemonade! So, if you experience something bad in life, try to turn it into a positive experience! You can say this expression to someone when you want to encourage or motivate him/her to make the best of a bad situation.
I’m so sorry that you didn’t make the football team. You know, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade!
Do you have any interesting fruit idioms in your language?
Expressions with ‘Senior’ and ‘Age’!
A senior citizen
= a polite term used to refer to older people; usually it means anyone over the age of 65.
A senior moment
= when you do something, like forget where you put the car keys or temporarily forget the name of a friend or family member, that suggests you are getting old!
I had a senior moment. I walked around the parking lot for 15 minutes trying to remember where I parked my car!
10/20/etc. years one’s senior
= _____ years older than someone
Have you seen Holly’s new boyfriend? He’s 20 years her senior! He must be rich.
ripe old age
= someone who is old, but is doing something that someone much younger usually does; a positive expression
At the ripe old age of 89, she still drives herself around town!
in this day and age
= nowadays, at the present time
In this day and age it’s rare to see someone using a typewriter!
A woman of a certain age
= a pleasant way of saying a woman who is not young anymore!
Women of a certain age should not wear a bikini.
to come of age
= originally this was used to describe the time period when someone leaves their childhood behind and becomes an adult, but it is now also used to say something has ‘become fully formed’
The Baby Boomers came of age during a time of great changes in society.
He came of age as an actor when he moved to New York and had his first role in a Broadway play.
The neighbourhood came of age when the car factory opened up. It brought jobs and life to the area!
*You may hear this a lot in American TV shows and movies. Often the TV show or movies is described as “a coming-of-age story” where the young main character has an experience that matures him/her into an adult.
‘Stand By Me’ was such a great coming-of-age movie.
English Expressions with ‘Book’!
The listening lesson “My Library Books are Always Late!” is about my bad habit of never returning my library books on time. Let’s take a look at some English expressions with ‘book’!
a bookworm
= someone who likes to read books and reads a lot!
My sister is a real bookworm – she always has her head in a book!
to hit the books
= to study/begin studying, usually intensely
My final exams start in 2 weeks. It’s time to hit the books!
(to do something) by the book
= to follow the rules carefully and exactly
The police were very cautious and carried out the investigation by the book.
We did everything by the book but the bank still would not give us a loan.
Don’t judge a book by its cover! / You can’t judge a book by its cover!
= don’t judge (form an opinion about) someone because of what they look like! Whether or not a book is good does not depend on its cover, so what we think about other people should not be based on what they look like
Just because she looks like a punk doesn’t mean she’s a bad person – don’t judge a book by its cover!
to throw the book at someone
= to punish someone (usually a criminal) as harshly and severely as possible (usually by the court system)
He’s already been arrested twice for driving without a licence. If he’s caught a third time, the judge will throw the book at him.
to take/to borrow a leaf/page out of someone’s book
*A ‘leaf’ in this context is a sheet of paper.
= to copy what someone else is doing because they’re successful at it
Lynn looks amazing! She’s lost so much weight. I should really take a page out of her book and start going to the gym more.
Every trick in the book
= try something every way possible, do everything you can
We tried every trick in the book but we just couldn’t get the baby to smile!
He tried every trick in the book to get her attention, but she would not agree to go on a date with him!
Expressions with ‘Baby’!
The listening lesson “Baby Gifts” was about a gift I bought for my friend’s new baby! Let’s take a look at some English expressions with ‘baby’!
to have a baby/to expect a baby
When I talked about my friend in the listening lesson, I said…
My oldest friend in the world just had her first baby!
Did you notice I used the verb have? When a woman is pregnant, you say she is having a baby, OR she is expecting a baby.
Baby Boomers
A ‘baby boom’ is a large number of babies born at a particular time. You may have heard or seen the expression ‘Baby Boomers’ in American movies or books. ‘Baby Boomers’ are a demographic: people who were born after the Second World War (during the years 1945-1965). Soldiers returned home from the war and started making families! Because of the large number of them, baby boomers have had an incredible impact on American life.
Baby steps
Because babies are small, they take very small steps and move slowly (when they are learning how to walk). If you take ‘baby steps,’ you are doing something very slowly and carefully, and in small pieces.
Baby steps to financial preparation (The Globe & Mail)
Baby steps on medical e-records already saving money: study (National Post)
Cuban-American relations: Baby Steps (The Economist)
A designer baby
This is a new phenomenon. Because of advances in medical technology and ‘genetic engineering’, parents can ‘design’ the perfect baby instead of leaving it up to nature. They can choose the sex of their baby, the hair colour, the eye colour, or other things.
A baby shower
This is a party thrown for a woman expecting a baby! Her friends and family give her gifts, all the things that she will need for the baby.
…as soft/smooth as a baby’s bottom
This is a common simile: newborn babies have very soft skin, so when people want to describe how soft something is, they compare it to a baby’s bottom (*bottom is polite way of saying ‘bum’!)
…like taking candy from a baby
= something is very easy
This is another common simile. It’s very easy to take something away from a baby. A baby might cry, but it can’t fight you or come after you!
Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water!
= when you get rid of something you don’t want, be careful not to get rid of something you do want
= don’t throw out good stuff with the bad stuff
Don’t sell your car just because you don’t like the stereo in it. You’ll be throwing out the baby with the bath water. Buy a new stereo!
Just because you don’t like her appearance doesn’t mean you shouldn’t listen to what she has to say. Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water.
Expressions with ‘Crazy’!
The word crazy is an adjective. It has two general definitions, and it is used in a wide variety of expressions!
You’re crazy!
1. mentally ill
The old definition of crazy was someone who had a serious mental illness and was not sane. Nowadays it is considered offensive to call someone who has a mental illness ‘crazy.’ At the same, if you want to insult someone by implying that they have a mental illness, you call that person ‘crazy.’
Have you met her new boyfriend? He’s crazy! He’s got serious mental problems. I wouldn’t go anywhere near him.
2. something or someone that is stupid, not sensible, uncontrolled, wild, foolish, unreasonable, strange, unusual
She always wears the craziest outfits!
Is this another of your crazy ideas?
You went skydiving?! Are you crazy?
Go crazy
= to become any of the about definitions of crazy!
= to become mentally ill, out of control, etc.
I think I’m going crazy!
The crowd at the baseball game went absolutely crazy when the batter hit a homerun!
We were sitting quietly watching TV when all of a sudden the dog went crazy! He just started barking at the TV and running around the room.
Stir-crazy (adjective)
= You become stir-crazy when you become bored, impatient, restless, upset, and uncomfortable from being stuck inside or stuck in one place for a long time, from being inactive, or because you are prevented from doing something for a long time.
Her doctor has restricted her to bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy. She is going stir-crazy.
His car is being repaired so he’s been stuck in his house for the past couple of days. He’s starting to go stir-crazy!
to be crazy about (something)
= to be interested in or like something/someone intensely
= to be very enthusiastic about something/someone
My daughter is crazy about the Jonas Brothers! She listens to their music all the time and has pictures of them all over her bedroom walls.
Jane and Matt are completely crazy about each other. They love each other so much!
to drive (someone) crazy
= to make someone angry by annoying, irritating or bothering them
We get so many phone calls from telemarketers, it drives me crazy!
His wife’s constant nagging is driving him crazy!
Our neighbour’s dog is always outside. His loud barking drives us crazy!
(do something) like crazy
= to do something very quickly, very energetically, and to do a lot of it!
She has been cleaning her house like crazy!
The project deadline is in 4 days so the whole team is working like crazy to get it done on time.
Rihanna’s new album is selling like crazy!
*This is expression is similar to doing something as if / like it’s going out of style.
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