From Monkeys to Potatoes

To monkey around means to do things that are not useful or

serious, or to simply waste time.

Now, in the United States, children do not usually have monkeys

as pets, but they do often have dogs. And dogs make most
children feel happy. But for some reason – a reason that word
experts do not know – we use “dog” in a phrase that means to
feel unwell. If you are as sick as a dog you are really, really sick
and will most likely stay home from work or school.

Besides, dogs, cats are also a favorite pet here in the States.
This next phrase combines cats and secrets to make a very
common expression.

Let’s say you know a secret, a big secret. And let’s say you tell
it to people. You have just let the cat out of the bag! This idiom
means to reveal a secret or tell facts that were previously
unknown.
If you let the cat out of the bag, you spoil a surprise. So, if your
friend is planning a big surprise birthday for another friend,
don’t let the cat out of the bag by accidentally saying it in front
of the birthday girl.

Even though this is a very common idiom, the origin of “to let
the cat out of the bag” is also unknown. However, the origin of
our next expression is not hard to guess.

If you are doing an outdoor activity -- such as hiking in the

woods, or having a picnic in a park -- what are some things that
may disturb your good time? Bad weather could. And so could
bugs! Crawling pests like ants, and flying ones like mosquitoes,
could make your experience uncomfortable or annoying.
So, when we bug people we bother them so much that we affect
their good time. This common expression is often said as a
command: “Stop bugging me!”

Now, let’s move on to clothing.

Of course, you know what a hat it. But did you know that you
can many at the same time?

If you wear many hats you do many different things, even if you
only have one job. For example, if you work at a small
company, the owners may expect you to answer the phones,
manage some paperwork, speak to clients, and design the web
site.
In today’s economy, some people say it is good to wear many
hats when you are first starting your career.

While wearing my researching hat here at Learning English, I

have learned that many languages use food in their idioms and
expressions. English is no exception.

Some food expressions have good meanings, while others don’t.

For example, being a couch potato is not a good thing. This
means you sit on the couch all day and do nothing but watch
television or play video games.

People who are couch potatoes are thought to be lazy and

boring. Life does not excite them. They would rather watch
others live on a screen.

Now, let’s say a friend of yours is a couch potato. You may

wonder how he got to be that way. One day you visit this
friend’s home and meet his mother and father. While you are
there, you see the parents are also couch potatoes. You could
say, well, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
This expression simply means that a child acts or looks a lot like
the parents. Usually we use this expression when talking about
bad things. But we can also use it to describe good traits that
are passed down from a parent to a child.

We use the next two expressions when we have problems. One

deals with your heart, and the other with your bank account.
Sometimes in life, we run into serious issues. They might
require a conversation with someone about an uncomfortable or
unpleasant topic. We call this kind of conversation a heart-to-
heart. We use this expression as a noun or as an adjective, such
as “heart-to-heart talk.”

But perhaps having a heart-to-heart doesn’t help to solve a

problem. Let’s say you are having trouble paying your rent;
having a heart-to-heart with your landlord may gain you a
couple of weeks, but soon you will have to pay your rent. The
only thing to really help this problem is money.

However, money can’t – and shouldn’t – help all problems. Also,

it’s not a good idea to try to solve big problems with just
money.

But sometimes, people do just throw money at a problem and

hope that it goes away. For example, people having trouble
learning English may try to throw money at the problem. They
may buy classes, time with teachers and the latest language
software. But these things will get them only so far. To really
get better, they must simply study and practice.