An
is an expression that has a meaning which cannot be derived from
the combined meaning of its words. To put it somewhat differently, the words's literal meanings
do not seem to come together to mean whatever the idiom does.
Idioms are
particular to a language and culture and are, therefore, often difficult for non-native speakers
to understand. In this story, Hazel says to her husband, George, "'You been so tired
latelykind of wore out," and the expression that one can be "worn out" is
idiomatic because the combination of these words does not add up to mean very
tired or exhausted.
When George tells Hazel
that he'd be afraid to try "to get away with" taking some of the weights out of his
handicap bag, he uses another idiom. He's not trying to physically move away from something with
something else; he'd be attempting to do something illegal without being found
out.
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