Customer Reviews

101 American English Idioms: Understanding and Speaking English Like an American

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

From The Publisher

Here is a refreshing tongue-in-cheek look at American idioms, presented in living caricature. American English Idioms, a whimsical collection of colloquialisms, is sure to delight you - and provide real insight into American idioms, customs, and humor.

Harry Collis has arranged common everyday idioms into nine lighthearted sections - including: The Body Has Many Uses, People Do the Strangest Things, When Things Go Wrong, When Things Go Well, and more! And he has turned them over to the expert hands of Mario Risso, whose wonderfully humorous cartoons illustrate what Americans say and what they really mean.

Each idiom has a standard English "translation" and is placed in a real-life context, either in a natural dialogue or narrative. These facilitate understanding and make the idioms come alive!

American idioms can cause confusion and frustrate many English language learners. This thin, delightful collection 101 idioms uses humor, clear drawings, and witty captions to illustrate the real meanings of odd phrases. Many English teachers love the verbal and visual humor, and add it as a supplemental text for intermediate or advanced ESL students. The mocking tone, however, probably annoys the more prudish folks. Other adult educators might also feel that their precious class time is better spent on more practical life skills. I understand their reservations, but still strongly recommend it as a real treat. The author, Harry Collis, deserves great praise for creating a very entertaining, informative ESL book.
This satisfying collection seems ideal for self-study, college students, and tutors. Do yourself a favor - read this book!

I use 101 American English Idioms with my students. The idioms are common, and I feel the illustrations add a generous element of fun to a very effective book. Because my students need to understand spoken English, I also use Whaddaya Say, 2nd Edition, to help them accurately hear natural spoken English.

A short and informative book about word origins.

The illustrations are my favorite part, which are absolutely hysterical. I could barely catch my breath from laughing so hard.

I purchased this book as a gag gift for a coworker who was incapable of accurately reciting turns of phrases and idioms. He seemed to like the book pretty well, but it was also missing a few things that I thought should be included in a sort of "top 101" format like the book has. In any case, it was well-received and will hopefully be well-used.

I loved the audio tape feature, but I was disappointed with the idioms that were chosen. If you were only going to teach 101 idioms to someone coming to the U.S. for the first time, these certainly would not be the first ones I would choose. The illustrations are helpful, but this book is much shorter and less useful than many others in the genre. I would suggest buying one of the much larger "idiom dictionaries" for someone who is coming to the country for the first time, because they will teach you the more regularly-used idioms. Hope that helps. Enjoy!

Todd Hagopian
President/CEO
Hagopian Institute
Author of the popular "Quote Junkie" book sereies and the brand new "Idiom Junkie" series

Play the cassette whenever possible for hundreds times, for example before bedtime and during sleeping.

You learn by listening. It's the best way to learn idioms, for me.

You don't need to read the book often but only listening to the recording of this book. Highly recommend it.

I also learnt "don't talk with your month full' from this book. Language plus culture.