Thursday, July 17, 2014

Fair-weather friend

Idiom: Fair-weather friend
Example: Fred Anderson won the lottery. Not long after that, Fred met Thomas Henry. Fred and Thomas became very good friends. Thomas went everywhere Fred went; they partied together, ate together and talked everyday.
About two months after Fred and Thomas had met, Fred was in a very bad car accident. All of Fred's lottery winnings went toward his medical bills. While Fred was in the hospital, he only received one call from Thomas, who claimed he was too busy to visit Fred in the hospital.
Once Fred was released from the hospital, his insurance company paid all of his bills and gave him an extra $200,000! News of Fred's recent good fortune spread quickly. Within a week, Thomas showed up at Fred's door to see how his friend was doing. However, Fred refused to answer his door. "I don't need fair-weather friends!" said Fred.

Meaning: A fair-weather friend is a person who only wants contact when you can help him. As soon as you need him, he's not around.

For more information, please visit: www.languagesystems.edu

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

It takes two to tango

Idiom: It takes two to tango


Example:

Kyle: I can't believe it! My girlfriend still won't speak to me.

James: Oooh, that's too bad, What did you do to make her so angry?

Kyle: Nothing! She just suddenly stopped talking!

James: Nothing? I find that hard to believe. It takes two to tango.


Meaning: conflict requires two participants. We use this idiom to indicate "fault," "blame," or responsibility for an argument or fight rests not with one but with two people.

For more information, please visit:www.languagesystems.edu