Idiomatic (i-dē-ə-ˈma-tik) adjective 1. Of or relating to idioms. 2. Peculiar to a particular group or person. 3. Place in Mitch’s head where he stores old idioms.
Idiom (ˈɪdɪəm) n A phrase which cannot be understood from the meaning of the individual words it contains, for example, “It’s raining cats and dogs.”
My mom introduced me to idioms when I was a kid by using them frequently. When I was misbehaving (roughly 23 hours per day), she would warn me that she had eyes in the back of her head. 
I can still picture them peering out at me. And in the evenings, she would ask me to go “stick your head through the door and tell your father dinner’s ready.” ⇒
Years later, my circle of friends included a roommate from the Netherlands named Constant who knew very little English. But that didn’t hinder him; he’d just transliterate colorful Dutch idioms. In the midst of a conversation he’d say something like, “Yeah, that’s like handing your uncle a fish while he’s riding a bicycle.”
Another foreign-born friend, an adorable woman from Bulgaria named Yolly, was fluent in English, but used delightfully quirky imported idioms. For example, she would often tug below her eye and say, “See any boats?” I finally asked her what it meant. She said the phrase and accompanying action were used whenever anyone over-explained something. In fact, the idiom was so common in her country that the eye-tug was usually all that was needed.
She didn’t know the idiom’s derivation, but we figured it must mean something like, “Do you think there’s no brain in my head, just a lake with boats floating around in it?” For years after that, I’d tug on my eye when anyone over-explained something. Just so I could tell them about my wonderfully idiomatic friend Yolly.
What are some of your favorite idioms?
As nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.
So skinny he could hide behind a picket fence.
Attic light’s on, but nobody home.
Pointing to head, nodding and saying, “Kidneys!”
;>) Love ’em all, Rebecca!
Bosnians call someone “tikva” (their word for gourd) for someone who’s empty-headed.
Ouch.
Biting off more than I can chew. Back to the drawing board… the ball is in your court!
Busier than a one-armed paper hanger.
;>)
Like a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest
How about “His elevator doesn’t go all the way up”
;>)
Lancelot: I will send help as soon as I have accomplished a daring and heroic rescue in my own particular…
Concorde: Idiom, sir?
Lancelot: Idiom!
Funniest. Movie. Ever.
Better than Ishtar?
A smidge.
This post was fun, but I’m a little confused by the title. From My Idom Attic — is the spell check disabled on your computer?
My favorite idiom:
A Woman’s Work is Never Done . . . So Why Bother? 😉
Can’t believe I misspelled “Idiom” in the title, Linda! (“Idom” – arggh!) Thanks for the catch!
Your grammar check missed “she’d would” referring to your mom.
Thanks, Manette!
I remember a few my dad used to say:
That’d be a wild goose chase.
Kill two birds with one stone.
Make hay while the sun shines.
You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.
Classics.
Don’t get your knickers in a twist.
;>)
My favorite is “You can’t have a battle of wits with an unarmed man.” My dad had a friend who used to say, “He’s so crooked, he’d steal [poop] from a lame chicken.”
A few from downunder:
Better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stick
Flat out as a lizard drinking
Mad as a cut snake
Don’t spit the dummy / He spat the dummy
Take my/your bat and ball and go home
The shit hit the fan
May your chooks turn into emus and kick your dunny door down
A few of those are used in the U.S. too, Gwen. But not that last one! ;>)
Well, I believe you are a bit short on emus for a start, and then, I guess you don’t call outdoor toilets, dunnies. 🙂
Correct on both counts.
That was great! I was laughing about you misbehaving 23 hours per day. One of my old favorites is “ants in your pants.” Another idiom I use frequently to describe someone who isn’t too bright is “the elevator doesn’t go all the way up.”
I’ve thought this: A picture is worth a thousand words
I’ve felt this: There’s no rest for the wicked
I’ve seen this: Blind leading the blind
Break a leg.
It’s a piece of cake dear
Don’t jump your fences before you get to them.
Never argue with a fool. They will never understand when they’re wrong.
And one that is probably a bit on the obtuse side— You can’t pull your socks up if you’re not wearing any!
;>)
We have an eye tug idiom in Italian. Using the correct finger to perform the tug is imperative as the gesture takes on a whole new meaning. It’s wonderfully subtle and physically natural while being as direct as one can get.
I’m picturing it now.
This is why I run my “How Cliche” posts—why do we say what we say? Stay tuned for “I” sayings…
I’ll wait with bated breath, Pam.
It’s nice to shoot the breeze with you…
In the Uk if you think someone is messing you around or trying to wind you up then we say “Stop pulling my chain” 😊
Yep, U.S. too.
It’s not an idiom, but I remember my grandmother’s favorite saying (to misbehaving grandchildren) was, “Stop those monkeyshines or I’ll get the yardstick!” In all the years I new her, she never once “got the yardstick.”
;>)
I can almost hear my dad saying (as I was standing in front of the tv), “You make a better door than a window!”
Your father and mine must have taken the same Dad Idioms (Dadioms?) 101 class, Cindie.