7 Dumb English Idioms Explained
The English language can be strange at times. I’m not a polyglot, but I have a number of ESL friends who can attest to this. My mother is from Germany and I grew up hearing her complain about the weird ways English manifests. Having grown up with it, I generally accepted the odds and ends of the language. I didn’t think too deeply about the individual words in certain phrases. I focused on the general meaning behind the phrases instead, like odds and ends. Native English speakers would immediately understand that odds and ends mean miscellaneous. But that’s not obvious.
In this article, I will be exploring the origin and meaning behind several common phrases that may baffle people who speak English as a second language.
A dime a dozen
Today, this phrase is ascribed to something so common that its value is practically worthless. You might say that virtual assistants are a dime a dozen. You might use it jokingly or sarcastically like, corrupt leaders are a dime a dozen.
The term originates from the good ol’ 1800s, around the time the dime was first minted in the US. At the time, many things were advertised as a dime for a dozen such as apples or eggs. It was used to convey good value. It’s stuck around long enough to become what it means today.
