A Boatload of Idioms: Over a thousand English expressions

A Boatload of Idioms: Over a thousand English expressions
by Lucia Sera (Author)
CD-ROM e-book: 274 pages
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1932653139
ISBN-13: 978-1932653137

Idioms are often described as the spice of a language because of the colorful way they can sum up an idea (for example, "mad as a hornet" is an illustrative, yet simple expression to show anger). However, idioms can be one of the most difficult areas to learn, especially in English. Even the best student's speech will remain a bit stilted without a working knowledge of idioms; indeed, they are the final measure of fluency.

A Boatload of Idioms presents more than a thousand idioms, along with definitions, origin explanations (where known), sample sentences and exercises. Also, a search index is offered as a quick reference tool. This program is aimed at intermediate-to-advanced ESL students as well as native English speakers who want to improve their language abilities. Once idioms are easily understood, speaking English can be a "cake-walk".

A Boatload of Idioms can help ESL/EFL students become familiar with the most common idiomatic expressions found in modern American English. There are over a thousand idioms offered here, along with definitions and example sentences. In this straightforward presentation, the idioms (highlighted in bold) are listed alphabetically. Brackets appear at the beginning of some of the entries to show the full saying, ordered by topic word. Each idiom is followed by a short definition; several contain explanations of their origins. Also, example sentences (shown italicized) are given for further clarity. At the end, exercises are provided to check readers’ comprehension of the various idioms chosen from the body of this product.