If you are studying a language, it’s probably a good idea to keep a dictionary on hand. This lets you reference words and find the meaning whenever you need. Keeping a dictionary of idioms, however, is probably a less common practice. But what good is a dictionary if it doesn’t help you understand what’s said? As a non-native speaker, it’s quite difficult to understand the meaning of idioms – often times you know the meaning of all the words said, you just don’t know their collective meaning. This is why the Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms is a good addition to your book of references if you are learning to speak English.
The book is organized by “important words” in the idioms.For example, under the word “dot” you’ll find the idioms “dot your i’s and cross your t’s” and “on the dot”. This allows the student to find the idiom and use the resource book even if he/she only remembers one or two key words in the idiom.
"The book states that “on the never-never” is a humorous British idiom, which makes sense, because as an American I’ve never heard that expression in my life!"
While some idioms are used across the English-speaking world, others are country-specific; what the Britons say, the Americans don’t and vice versa. In those cases, the book explains to the student which country the idiom is used in. For example, the book states that “on the never-never” is a humorous British idiom, which makes sense, because as an American I’ve never heard that expression in my life!
If you are an English language teacher, then you should recommend Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms to your students. While you may not be able to incorporate it into your lessons all that often, it’s a good book for your students to have and use whenever necessary.
If you are a student, you don’t have to wait until you hear an idiom in order to learn it. You can simply open the book and start reading to learn new idioms. You shouldn’t try to pepper your speech (ahem, there’s an idiom for you!) too much, though; in real life people use idioms sparingly. But, if you make it a goal to use Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms to learn 1-2 new idioms a day, then you’re bound to improve your overall fluency and comprehension. Remember, definitions of words are not enough to understand meaning.
