"Phrases or Sayings" we have grown up with but when we think about are hard to make sense of. This is called an Idiom. If you are an adult just learning American / English you would think they are nonsensical and out and out wacky.
Examples >>>
"bit the dust", "kicked the bucket", "bite the bullet", "pushing up daisies", & "sleeping with the fishing" // means being dead //
Another one, Referring to body parts >>>
"I have my hands full", "I'm all ears", "slept like a log"
So now that we are familiar with an Idiom I will attempt to remember some I came across throughout my life & see if I can find where they originated //
BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE // Interpreted means / Making a mistake or a false assumption //
This is a pretty easy one, referring to hunting dogs barking at the bottom of a tree that it's quarry is not up in the branches.
Looking up it's origin /comes from James Kirke Paulding鈥檚 1832, Westward Ho!, book. It caught on in several newspapers that brought it into popular use.
So to confuse things even more there are colloquialisms which are words or phrases that only make sense to people of a particular community. Colloquialisms can be either figurative or literal, while idioms must be figurative. 馃ぃ
Now Euphemisms are polite words or phrases substituted for other words or phrases considered to be unpleasant, offensive, harsh or too embarrassing.
A Euphemism can be both an euphemism and a Idiom, for example "passed away."
But not all Idioms are Euphemisms, so as you see, to go down this road you must be a bit of an Idiot .
//////////////////////////////Too be continued /////////////
