PICKLE EFFECT OF IDOMS, MAXIMS AND PROVERBS

PICKLE EFFECT OF IDOMS, MAXIMS AND PROVERBS

Drawing a parallel from the world of food, it can be said that idioms, maxim and proverbs are like a pickle which is rarely eaten by itself. But when used judiciously with the meals, it adds aroma, flavour and taste to the food.
(1) Idiomatic expressions, maxims and proverbs are not bound by the usual rules of grammar. For example, it may be recalled that, „Many a ship have floundered on these strong seas‟.
(2) When people are hungry and famished, they can just boil some rice and gulp it down. It may kill their hunger but this is not what they usually do. They cook different types of food, add spices / flavourings and then eat them with relish. They not only fill their stomach but also do it royally.
In the same way, while writing or speaking, people do not merely use some words that somehow carry meanings across to readers; they try their best to add beauty and style to the diction to make it attractive so that it has the requisite impact. For example, consider a friend who is always vague in his expressions, rambling and dilly-dallying – he is never able „to come to the point‟. His manner of speaking can be expressed effectively in a few words that he is fond of „beating about the bush‟.
Another colleague is always clear, specific and to the point – „no hemming and hawing‟, no faltering and „no beating about the bush‟. The same could be stated more powerfully that he always „hits the nail on the head‟.
Writers can pick up idioms, maxims and proverbs from a large number available in all languages. They enhance style of writing and are attractive to the receivers of message. There are many such expressions that are vying with one another and wanting, willing and asking to be picked up by the communicators. Thus if senders of message have a better command over the language and vocabulary, they would be more proficient in selecting the right ones. A few examples are:
(1) The colleague who always speaks to the point can also be described as a person who never „minces his words‟ or he is „cut and dry‟.
(2) Raju, a villager, was always getting drunk and falling in the gutter. He would beat his wife „black and blue‟, snatching her money and „blowing it up on drinks‟. His family was fed up with him. He did not have any friends „worth the name‟. When Raju‟s life came to an end, his family „breathed a sigh of relief‟. One fine morning, he was found dead in a gutter. Someone said that Raju „breathed his last‟ but one could also say that he „kicked the bucket‟.