Lesson 2 Make Your Conversation Colorful
It’s All Greek to Me
Have you heard the expression, “It’s ____ to me”?
It ____ “I can’t understand what you are saying because it sounds like a foreign language to me.”
You may wonder why it ____ not French or Italian but Greek.
The ____ is that the Ancient Greeks had an enormous influence on Western culture.
Greece was the birthplace of Classical Western civilization, and therefore, also left us with some pretty ____ idioms.
Idioms pose a ____ challenge in language learning because their meanings are different from the words that make them up.
Learning their origins will make it ____ to understand what they mean and to figure out how to use them.
____ are four English idioms with Greek origins.
Achilles’ Heel
According to Homer, the Ancient Greek poet, the Greeks ____ Trojans had a war that lasted ten years.
This war eventually became known as the Trojan War, where Achilles became the most ____ hero.
When Achilles was born, his mother, a goddess of water, attempted to make ____ immortal.
She dipped him in the magical River ____
Wherever the water touched, the part touched would ____ indestructible.
However, because she held ____ upside down by one of his heels, Achilles’ heel remained dry.
This became his only ____ spot.
____ grew up to be a great warrior and survived many great battles.
However, during the Trojan War, Paris, a prince of Troy, ____ a poisoned arrow that struck Achilles’ heel, which led to his death.
This is why the idiom “Achilles’ heel” refers to a fatal weakness, especially ____ a situation where all other parts are strong.
Trojan Horse
Even after ____ death of Achilles, the Trojan War reached a point where no one could win.
One day, the Greeks came up with an ____
They built a big wooden horse and left ____ outside the city of Troy.
They pretended ____ leave the horse behind as a gift for the Trojans.
The Trojans thought they had won, so they pulled the ____ inside their city gates.
However, the Greeks had hidden their soldiers inside ____ horse.
That night, the soldiers came out of the horse ____ opened the gates to let in the Greek army waiting outside.
This ____ the Greeks to win the war.
Nowadays, people use the idiom “Trojan horse” to describe a trick ____ scheme that is used to hide someone’s true purpose or intention.
Cut the Gordian Knot
Greek legend tells of the Gordian Knot, which was tied ____ a king named Gordius.
The knot was so complex that no one was able to ____ it.
A prophet said whoever could untie the knot would become the ruler of ____
For hundreds of years, people unsuccessfully tried to untie the ____
Then, Alexander the Great came ____
He tried to untie it, and it just ____ tighter.
After thinking for a while, he drew ____ sword and cut the knot in half!
Everyone was shocked because that ____ not what they had expected.
He explained, “It doesn’t matter ____ the knot was untied. The important thing is that it’s undone.”
____ that day on, the idiom “cutting the Gordian knot” has been commonly used to describe a simple solution to a complex problem.
Spill the Beans
In ancient Greece, people often discussed ____ matters and made decisions through voting.
They cast votes by dropping a white or black bean into a clay ____
White beans were used for positive votes, and black beans for ____ votes.
These votes ____ cast in secret, so if someone knocked over the jar, whether by accident or on purpose, they spilled the beans and revealed the results of the vote prematurely.
Because of this origin, the phrase “spill the beans” came to mean “reveal information that was meant to ____ kept secret.”
Idioms are an important part of everyday English, ____ they make the language rich and colorful.
When you run into idioms that are “Greek to you,” take the time to ____ their origins.
It is a fun way to increase your understanding of English, and it can also help you to remember ____ and use them in the appropriate situations going forward.