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Young Writers Society


Idiots for Idioms



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Fri Jun 01, 2012 7:31 pm
Albatrossity says...



Finish the last word of the posted idiom and write it's origin in a nutshell. Then, write a few words using an idiom that starts with the first letter of whatever that last word was to prompt the next post.

Example:

Person 1: Writing an original personal statement essay for college is difficult. Try to apply to more than one college at a time and don't count your chickens before they...

Person 2: Hatch. This idiom dates back to 570 B.C. with it's origin in the Greek fable of Aesop titled "The Milkmaid and Her Pail". It tells of a milkmaid who expects to earn a fortune selling chickens with the eggs she'll buy with the money she'll make from selling her pail of milk. By accident, she drops the pail of milk and hence her mother's reproach; "Don't count your chickens before they hatch".

For originality, it helps to have brains. So
Hit the...

Person 3: Books. In this American & Australian informal idiom, hit means to start, to begin, to leave, to go. It originated through cowboys who would use it in terms of hitting the trail.

If you end up rejected from the one college you applied to, you'll be
Back at square...

So on and so forth.. Let's try it out?
  





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Fri Jun 01, 2012 7:41 pm
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Lumi says...



One! To my knowledge, and a wikipedia search, this idiom came from children's board games such as hopscotch and shoots & ladders! It used to be my least favorite phrase when I was a kid because I always got ladders.

After you take a nice run and are feeling a bit winded, it's best to sit back and take a...
I am a forest fire and an ocean, and I will burn you just as much
as I will drown everything you have inside.
-Shinji Moon


I am the property of Rydia, please return me to her ship.
  





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Fri Jun 01, 2012 7:43 pm
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Albatrossity says...



I'll post first to start by finishing the above idiom: If you end up rejected from the one college you applied to, you'll be Back to square...

One. There are disputes about the origin of this idiom. Some say the U.K. introduced the phrase in radio commentaries of BBC football matched in 1927 in which 'Square One' meant the rear left quadrant of the defender’s side of the field, others say it originated in the U.S. through the children's game Shoots and Ladders.

Today must be the day you receive word from the college you applied to. You seem a little on pins and...
  





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Fri Jun 01, 2012 7:46 pm
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Albatrossity says...



sorry, Lumi! I'll post a response to yours if no one replies next, but I'm a bit rushed right now as I have to drop off my younger sister to work then go to work myself! I'll be back to check in later..many thanks for posting a reply!
  





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Fri Jun 01, 2012 8:12 pm
JabberHut says...



nah bird it's cool

Needles! This idiom was discovered rather recently -- about the 19th century -- regarding an impressive amount of anxiety involving fidgeting or being unable to sit calmly, as if you were asked to sit on a chair of needles.

If you find yourself in Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, or any other kingdom within Disney World, you'd certainly be caught in Mickey Mouse's Neck of the...
I make my own policies.
  





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Sat Jun 02, 2012 5:42 am
TiMEspAc3D says...



w00ds

Meaning: A person's region or home. Neck was a 15th century British word used to describe a stretch of land surrounded by water, that had to be crossed in order to visit one's neighbor in the woods. This stretch of land resembled an animal's Neck... Thus... Neck of the woods.

For justice lets do this one

"After you take a nice run and are feeling a bit winded, it's best to sit back and take a.."
  





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Sat Jun 02, 2012 6:25 am
Albatrossity says...



Great idea, TimeSpaced! Very helpful in facilitating the flow of this thread =)

breather.

Origin: I had trouble finding anything on the phrase's origin, but the word "breather" does date back to 1901 for the meaning of a rest period or lull/chance to recover one's breath in respite from continuous labor. This was the best I could do (sleep, and breather-deprived myself x_x')..

To me, she shone beautifully amidst her peers as a rare specimen. Such girls only come once in a blue...
  





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Sun Sep 23, 2012 4:13 am
Riska says...



Moon!

"Dating back to the 1800's the term "blue moon" was used by the Farmer's Almanac to denote the appearance of a third full Moon in a season where four full Moon's will occur. Since there are normally 12 full Moon's a year (one per month), this works out to three per quarter (three month period). However, occasionally a quarter will see four full Moon's."

Sometimes I just stare at a problem all day, I can't make heads or...
  








i, too, use desk chairs for harm and harm alone
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