No one ever said (or should have said) that English is easy to learn. Not only is English grammar difficult, English spelling is in a class of its own. (I won't even mention what it's like learning to read and write in English.) Besides all the above-mentioned problems, there are what I call the crazy "unclassifieds" you come across in English.
Take food for example. Fruits and vegetables are sometimes described as having animal body parts. For example, have you ever heard of an ear of corn? Now if you think that's corny, watch out! Before you cook potatoes, take out their eyes. If removing the eyes (or spots) of the potatoes seems cruel, consider this: some people love eating artichoke and celery hearts.
Throughout history, people have argued whether feelings come from the heart or the head. Lucky for you, you won't have to think about this issue when you read about these next food phrases. Whether you shop in Great Britain or the United States, when you ask the grocer for a head of lettuce, a head of cabbage, or a head of cauliflower, he/she will know just what you are talking about.
If you haven't had a belly full yet, get this. In the United States, there is one very tasty type of orange known as the navel orange. Can you stomach any more of this? (No groans please.) I hope you can because I also want to tell you about the versatile kidney bean. It's used in stews, pies, soups and salads. And true to its name, it's really shaped like your kidney!
Occasionally, food idioms get switched around so foods end up describing people. For example, young male adolescents who are just beginning to grow whiskers are said to have "peach fuzz." Before you bite into your next peach, rub its skin. Peach fuzz really is an accurate characterization of an early beard, isn't it?
Perhaps this next idiom is not as colorful as the others, but nevertheless it is used often. Everyone will know what this means: when you call someone a "carrot top," you are saying that he/she is _____?
While the above are used to explain people's physical appearances, there are also descriptions relating to people's emotional side. For instance, if you are able to remain calm in stressful situations, you are "cool as a cucumber."
The list goes on, but I will close here, with a question. In the Garden of Eden, Eve supposedly gave Adam an apple to eat. So, how is it that ever since Adam's apple has been stuck in everybody else's throat?
--Deborah Rubin Fields is a writer based in Jerusalem. She has published both fiction and non-fiction for very young children on upward to adolescents. Currently, she is finishing an elementary school workbook dealing with Judaism and the environment.
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