In Hot Water or the Icing on the Cake?

Hello, It’s Rodd here,

The monsoon has finished here in Thailand, so no more rain for about three or four months.  It will be dry as a bone.  “Dry as a bone” is an idiom, which means “completely dry”.  Idioms are one of the most important aspects of the native English language.  They are used every single day by all native speakers and they are even used in the news!

An idiom is an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual literal meanings.  I have highlighted some below for you.  See if you can guess what they mean….

Speaking of dry as a bone, when it is not the dry season and it is the monsoon season, ¹it rains cats and dogs!  It absolutely buckets down! Then it stops after an hour or so and it’s sunny and warm again.

Once the rain is gone, we can step outside and ²hit the market.  In the market, there are many things we can buy.  We like to go there because it is as ³cheap as chips, however sometimes we can’t go, as we quite often ⁴have a lot on on our plates. 

Another thing we like to do when we are not busy, is take a walk and ⁵jump on the beach, sit down, ⁶crack a book, and ⁷have a quiet one, which to me is ⁸the icing on the cake.

Sometimes though, I will drink too much beer and end up going out.  It gets late, then Sky(my wife) ¹⁰gives me a ring, at which point I know ¹¹I’m in hot water. ¹¹“Hold your horses!” I say then buy another beer. No worries though, I will just say something sweet when I get home and she will forgive me – ¹²a piece of cake!

Key:

¹ Rain heavily

² Go to the market

³ Very cheap

⁴ We are very busy

⁵ Go to the beach

⁶ Read a book

⁷ Have a beer

⁸ An attractive but inessential addition to my day.

⁹ My wife gives me a telephone call

¹⁰ I am in trouble

¹¹ Be patient and wait please 

¹² It’s so easy

Rodd

長く日英翻訳に携わっており、どうすれば英語として自然かをうまく説明できる人気の講師！間違うことを恐れず、まずは書くことが大切であるというのをポリシーにしています。
座右の銘は「Never be afraid to always try new things and places, and enjoy life to its fullest.」