Description

Fuente tomada de: https://es.123rf.com/photo_60573726_alguien-se-ala-el-signo-de-exclamaci-n-al-describir-el-problema-y-su-soluci-n-ilustraci-n-vectorial-.html

Idiomatic expressions and words with colloquial meaning   

                 

In informal language words are used with a special or �colloquial� meaning. This is the case of some underlined words from the reading above. For example, the word squeeze in its broadest meaning means to crush or press something. Oranges are squeezed to make orange juice. But in the following sentence:

Ten schoolchildren squeezed into a Renault 4

The word squeezed means that ten children managed to get into a very small car. That’s why they broke a world record and got into the Guinness Records Book. This happens because in this context, the word squeezed is used colloquially and has a different meaning.

Something similar happens with idiomatic expressions. The words in idiomatic expressions do not take a literal or �dictionary� meaning; their meaning comes from the situation or context they apply to. This is the case of expressions like �in a hurry� which is used to indicate that someone has a real urgency to do something. In the reading, the expression �he wasn’t in a hurry� means that the robber didn’t have any urgency to get away from the bank. That’s why he was riding a bike, instead of going away in a car or some fast vehicle.