Customer Reviews

A Dictionary of American Idioms

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

 

 

I thought I knew English pretty well. But when I came to Canada and had a chance to talk to people whose first language was English, I realized that sometimes I just can't get what they mean. When someone says "I'm off the hook" what does he really mean, was he "hanging" from a hook!! After realizing that I went to a bookstore and started searching for something which would help me in this regard. Then I came across this book and after a glance, I decided to buy it. It's been more than two years and I'm still happy that I bought this dictionary. Even though I know a lot many idioms now, I still refer to this book almost daily. And it has never disappointed me!!

Idioms are always difficult. For people learning English as second language this is even harder. This book offers a detail list of idioms that people often use, with their meanings and examples. Using this book along with the "NTC's Dictionary of American Slang" helps to develop your skills in understand the way American speaks that not always is taught in school. The book is clear, perfect. I'm happy to have it in my bookcase.

I have an earlier edition of this book and I've used it so much that the cover is bent and the pages yellowed. I find this a very good reference work when I need to know what an idiom means. One of the best features of the book is that after each definition of an idiom, the idiom is used in a sentence. This really helps one understand the meaning of the phrase. While I like this book, I don't feel it's as good as the idiom dictionary published by Houghton: that one lists a date of origin for each idiom.

I bought the dictionary for my son who's a 4th grader and been in the process of learning and using idioms. While the book covers a wide range of idioms, it does seem to have some gaping holes in terms of the completeness of its listings. We oftentimes have to use the Internet to complement the search. This is a disappointment, seems we could simply just use the Internet instead.

Americans use a great deal of figurative language, including idioms. Figurative language is the most difficult for second language learners to comprehend and use. This book gives a wide range of both. I particularly appreciate this book as all of the idioms and figurative language phrases (e.g., over my head) are organized alphabetically and, therefore, easily located. I highly recommend it to all ESL teachers and SLPs.

This book is funny and a lot of help!
It is very helpful in understanding ASL as a communication tool.