PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES SHOULDN’T THROW STONES

This is a proverb rather than an idiom, but it’s regularly used. It means that people who have faults of their own shouldn’t criticise others.

 Examples

 “It added: ‘Ms Dinenage is reminded that people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.’”

 “As the saying goes, people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. And all our houses have parts made of glass.”


 This proverb is believed to originate from a line in Chaucer’s “Troilus & Criseyde”, which dates back to 1385. [1]


 [1] “Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones” in Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs, edited by Speake, Jennifer. Oxford University Press, 2015.

 Photo credit: Julie (Creative Commons)

CLIMBING THE WALLS

To be climbing the walls is an idiom that means to be feeling frustrated, anxious and/or trapped, as many of us are at the moment, as we remain in our homes, worrying about COVID-19 and its associated problems!

 Examples

 “Do everything you can to get the help you need to keep yourself from climbing the walls.”

 “There’s probably only so much screen time you want them to have, so how do you stop them (and you) from climbing the walls until it’s safe to go outside again?”

 “Another admitted he was climbing the walls already.”


Photo credit: Barbara Barden (Creative Commons)

EMPTY-HANDED

This week, I visited my parents in West Yorkshire. Due to COVID-19 panic buying, after driving around for two hours hunting for liquid soap for them, I returned empty-handed.

 If you’re empty-handed, you failed to obtain what you wanted.

 Examples

 “Had it not been for Indian sportswomen, the nation would have returned empty-handed from the Rio Olympics - for the first time since the 1992 Olympics.”

 “He ran off empty-handed and was later caught by police.”

 “It has left supermarket shelves bare, and fears are growing for the elderly who are having to walk away empty-handed.”


 Photo credit: Tim Dennell (Creative Commons)

HISTORIC OR HISTORICAL?

The current situation with COVID-19 is unprecedented, meaning that it’s never been known before. While people have experienced far tougher times than this, never before have we had to isolate ourselves from everyone except close family to prevent transmission of a potentially life-threatening virus.

 This situation has been described as both historical and historic, and it will eventually be both these things, but what’s the difference?

 Something that is historical belongs to the past but is not necessarily significant, although it may be. While most of us are looking forward to COVID-19 being a thing of the past, it’s currently very much in the present and thus not yet historical.

 Examples

 “Scientists usually use historical data to predict how many extreme weather events are going to strike in the future.”

 “Again, given the circumstances and lack of historical parallels, investors apparently decided to sell everything until more information was available.”

 Something that is historic is important, or potentially important, in history. I believe that this current crisis can be described as historic.

 Examples

 “But we’re not meant to be bringing people together during a potentially historic pandemic.”

 “Between them, the six extraordinary historic buildings in our care have witnessed 1,000 years of history, from the Black Death to the Great Fire of London.”

Daniel Foster (Creative Commons)

TO MAKE YOUR HAIR CURL

Something that makes your hair curl shocks or horrifies you.

 Examples

 “The shocking pictures will make your hair curl, even more so when you discover that the City Guest House are currently charging £142 a night for a stay in what customers say is a bed bug-infested property.”

 “There are some monsters that will absolutely make your hair curl.”

 “Dyson straighteners’ cost will make your hair curl” (This title uses the idiom as a pun as straighteners can be used to curl hair, while the price of £399 might horrify potential buyers.)


 Photo credit: Jess Gibson (Creative Commons)

TO HOLD WATER

If something (such as an argument or theory) holds water, it appears to be reasonable or convincing.  This phrase is often used in its negative form.

 Examples

 “Yes, I understand proportionality and fairness, but I don’t think your argument holds water.”

 “Claims that uranium mining near the Grand Canyon is safe don’t hold water”

 “However, for many historians, this theory doesn’t hold water.”


 We also say that an argument that is unconvincing is full of holes (like a sieve); this may explain the origin of the phrase “doesn’t hold water.”

 e.g. “Needless to say, the theory is full of holes.”


 The phrase “hold water”can be used in a literal as well as an idiomatic sense.

 e.g. “Also, sphagnum moss is planted, which holds water and forms peat.”


 Photo credit: Tim Hoggarth (Creative Commons)