Does anyone know about Idioms

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This is something that may or may not help you in everyday life. Some of you might have problems understanding people at work, college or anywhere really and when I was at school I learnt about Idioms we did it every Friday. Idioms are phrases which people use example:

He let the cat out the bag
We will be burning the midnight oil
Out of the blue
He saw red

I do use them a lot they can be very stupid at times does anyone have trouble understanding them.

I don't because I learnt alot of things socially and communication believe me for someone who has tried everything for the last 7 years trying to hide the fact with what I've got it's quite good

And enlighten me what does NT mean???

well i dont know about idioms, but i do know about idiots.

I use idioms myself quite often. The only time when I do have trouble is when the phrases in question are very idiomatic. But in those cases I suspect other people would have that problem too.

NT = neurotypicals (people without Asperger's Syndrome or autism in other words)

I use them all the time.

I have them down pat now (I think) but I know it took me longer to get them. I think I take them more seriously than most people do. I find some idioms to be offensive and to contain their own emotional subtext. Like the imagery conjured up when someone charges, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water!" Not only do I see it, but then the emotional subtext of doing something rash, harmful and irreparable, and terribly sad. When most people say it to mean generalizing to the point of overlooking a detail. Or dismissing something because of a generalization.

I think I use them, but I can't think of an example right now.

The first book I learned to read was the bible and it's filled with these,so I think I became quit good at figuring them out.I dont understand why they think aspies "cant" learn these.Yes,we may "see" the thing Literally but we can intellectually figure most of them out by the context they are being used.

I learned them the same way I learned english. Admittedly, some took longer than others, and I try to look for a REASON!

He let the cat out the bag

He told a secret. Probably based on the idea it is hard to get a cat into a bag, so "like the genie out of the bottle", it may not be easily corrected.

We will be burning the midnight oil

We will stay up late. Probably based on old oil lamps used before electricity.

Out of the blue

Out of noplace. Probably like "out of thin air". Such would be unexpected. The sky(and air) generally appears blue.

He saw red

He was angry. Red is an "angry" color, and the color of blood.

Of course, two I have used lately are:

take it with a grain of salt.

Don't trust it. MAYBE that is due to old marketplace vendors selling moist goods such as meat, where salt was added to help remove bad taste and prevent some disease.

Long time no see.

We haven't seen one another in a long time. This makes sense, and is quick, but is improper English!

Steve

I understand idioms that I've heard before well. However new ones can confuse me sometimes.

I use some, too, but very rarely.

I have to say that I really like idioms, particularly southern american idioms. They often have a funny sound to them, and the visual imagery can be funny as well...
Some examples:

When he was knee-high to a grasshopper.
That boy was happier'n a hog in slop.
She was madder'n a rooster in a hen house.
That boy done got beat with an ugly stick.
He sure was dumb as bricks.
That squirrel sure is deader'n a door nail.
etc.

Very often when someone says an idiom (or I read it), I will picture what they said literally, and then translate it into what it probably means. For idioms that I've heard and used my whole life, I usually skip this step, but that is probably because in my mind the idiom IS the correct "word" to describe the situation, particularly when I find there is not a suitable alternative.

Just my two cents

Isn't it normal for anyone NT or AS to try to figure out what these mean the first time they hear it? To me it seems like either way once you understand what it means you'd be okay.

What the heck does that mean? I've heard it, and the only thing I can figure out is...someone's really short? Like they only come up to a grasshopper's knee (if they have knees)?

Yes, it means that they are short, although usually in the context of also being very young. That is the only way that I have heard the expression used, at any rate.



Yes, it does seem like most people prefer to understand what is said to them =) But I suppose that the "how" of the understanding can be an interesting thing in and of itself.

I happen to love languages, odd or archaic words and turns of phrase, and general linguistic things. That tends to mean that I have no problem with idioms and have actually used idioms that confused the (NT) person I was speaking to--such as the time my Latin teacher was groping for examples of idioms and I brightly responded "Going at it hammer and tongs?" and the entire class just stared. Apparantly the expression hadn't been as widely known as I thought it was.

I also like idioms. They're funny. And I learn words and phrases mostly through context, and it's generally obvious to me what the person was trying to say even if I don't know the idiom at the time.

I enjoy idioms and figures of speech. Since I majored in English in college, I could not have made it through without knowing them. Also, I think they are fun.

An English expression I love is "Enough to make a cat laugh," meaning something has to be very funny or amusing. I think my cats can amuse themselves very well.

i find idioms fun to learn... as they usually employ some sort of visual explanation...

picture what a cat must look like getting out of a bag.... they generally dont like it in bags!

out of the blue... big blue yonder... sky...

yeah they are kinda random associations sometimes but i like that, cause that's how i roll.

im pretty random.

i like learning new idoms... it tickles me when i have my own representation fo rthem