Idiom of the day

-
Public Domain
Idioms, not to be confused with idiomas in Spanish, a very common mistake. Idioms are frases hechas or expresiones idiomáticas and are part of everyday language. Native speakers use them all the time.
Today I'd like to share with you something funny that happened in my Intermediate 1 class a few weeks ago. It's about idioms, of course.

Can you guess the idiom by looking at the photo in this post?

That's right! "Do not judge a book by its cover"


This idiom was in a text about Susan Boyle.



When I asked what the idiom meant in Spanish, one student put his hand up and offered an immediate reply:
"No juzgues un libro por la portada"

I asked the rest of the class whether they agreed. Some of them said "yes" and some other students did not know whether that was right or wrong. Other students said the translation in Spanish was
"No debemos dejarnos engañar por las apariencias".

The student who provided the first literal translation was very confident and that made me think. So, I decided to do a bit of research and check whether young and not so young people say "No juzgues un libro por la portada" .

I must admit I was shocked to see that Spanglish expression going around the Internet. I also found that expression in a translation tool that I often use called Linguee.

My question for you is:
  • Have you used that expression yourself? 
  • Should "No juzgues un libro por la portada" replace "No debemos dejarnos engañar por las apariencias"?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ADVANCED C1:Describing works of art

-
Image
Art beyond sight Look at the painting by John Sloan and answer the questions below: John Sloan. Sunday, Women drying their hair, 1912 What is the focal point (the place your eyes are drawn to? What can you see in the foreground? What can you see in the background on the right? and on the left? What is happening in the painting? Do you think there is a story behind the painting? If so, what is the story? Which of these words would you use to describe the light in the painting?                      bright         dazzling         harsh          rich          glowing       warm                     dim             gloomy          faint           soft   ...
Read more

Civil rights movement

-
Image
Martin Luther King Jr. Do you know that Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated in America on 20th January? He is one of the greatest and most influential figures in the American civil rights movement. We had the pleasure of listening to a visiting American speaker who came to our school to give a talk on the history and the impact of the civil rights movement. He talked about Martin Luther King Jr., but also about those who are not so well-known but paved the way for freedom . His life How much do you know about Martin Luther King Jr? Click on this BBC link and take notes. A bit of history of the civil rights movement. Reading and Speaking Look at the photos below. Do you know who they are? What did they do to pave the way for African-Americans? Click on the history of the civil rights movement and learn about the timeline of the civil rights movement in America. Takes notes. You are going to report your findings in class. The beginning of the civil rights...
Read more

Nelson Mandela: a year on

-
Image
Photo by Pep Fernández. Flickr.com CC-BY-NC-SA Nelson Mandela (1928-2013) died a year ago. He was 95 years old. He did nothing but fought throughout his entire life for peace and reconcilation in South Africa, a country notorious for racial oppression and apartheid . Is South Africa a peaceful country today? Reading and Listening Read this article about how South Africans are celebrating Nelson Mandela's life today. You can also watch an interview with his grandaughter, Ndileka Mandela, who talks about his gradnfather's legacy. And meanwhile, demonstrators fill the streets of New York Have you watched or read the news recently? What's going on in America? How much do you know about Eric Garner? Reading  Read this Wikipedia article about him and take notes When and where did it happen? Who was involved in the incident? What happened to Eric? What was the outcome of the investigation and the grand jury?  Watch this video Visit this New York T...
Read more