101 American English Idioms: Understanding and Speaking English Like an American [Paperback]

Harry Collis (Author), Mario Russo (Author)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

McGraw-Hill authors represent the leading experts in their fields and are dedicated to improving the lives, careers, and interests of readers worldwide

Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (February 9, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0844254460
• ISBN-13: 978-0844254463
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #206,796 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Slang & Idioms
  • #12 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Etiquette > Conversation
  • #25 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > English as a Foreign Language

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent appearance, the content is not that great, November 26, 1999

By 

Deák Csaba (Budapest, Hungary) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 101 American English Idioms: Understanding and Speaking English Like an American (Paperback)

The appearance of the book is excellent: both the graphics and the audiotape are excellent ways to help you learn the expressions. However, during my stay in the US, I found that most of the idioms are rarely used.

If you are a foreigner, and want to learn how to speak American English, get 'Street Talk 1' instead.

32 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some did not work!, August 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: 101 American English Idioms: Understanding and Speaking English Like an American (Paperback)

As soon as I read this book I used some phrases to my friend, who is an American lawyer obtained a degree from Duke grad. No doubt she is intelligent enough. But some of them did not work. For example, she did not understand "dressed to the teeth" at all. Because I used it at our friend's wedding party, the situation was perfect to use it. In addition, I wrote them down for fear that she had not catch them correctly because of my pronounciation. I found that some of others also didn't work. I wonder if some of idioms on this book are obsolete. But, generally, it seems to be useful.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book for ESL children, September 20, 2004

By 

Tom Reynolds (Wuhan, China) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 101 American English Idioms: Understanding and Speaking English Like an American (Paperback)

This book includes 101 popular American English idioms along with an illustration for each that children will find amusing. Note that the illustrations are purely for amusement rather than providing visual explanations of the idiom. Some of the idioms are more popular than others but overall a good selection has been made. Each idiom is explained in detail and with example sentences and a larger context.

Older readers will want to spend their money on a more comprehensive idiom dictionary, but this is perfect for children and those who enjoy reading to them. My only criticism would be that the idioms are presented in context and the examples are written at a higher level of English than what the overall genre seems to suggest would be appropriate. This book could be used with older/more advanced learners because of this, but the publisher seems to have aimed a little wide.