Question

1.13 Intercultural Communication: Watching Those Pesky Idioms n.o.4 Many languages have idiomatic expressions that do not always make sense to outsiders. YOUR TASK. Explain in simple English what the following idiomatic expressions mean. Assume that you are explaining them to nonnative speakers of English. a. thinking out of the box b. bottleneck c connect the dots d. hell on wheels e. drop the ball f get your act together g. stay the course h. in the limelight i. low on the totem pole

Answer 1

Intercultural communication of a) thinking out of the box of Thinking out of the box (also thinking outside the box is a metaphor that means to think differently, unconventionally or from a new perspective. This phrase often refers to normal or creative thinking b) bottle neck A bottle neck is a place where a road becomes narrow or where it meets another road so that the traffic slows down or stops, often causing traffic jams. \r\n A bottleneck is a situation that stops a process of activity from progressing. c) Connect the dots Connect the dots means to put the various facts and ideas together in order to see whole picture or to understand something globally. When someone connects the dots, he gathers all the data available in order to come to a conclusion. (d) Hell on wheels of Hell on wheels though, aggressive, wild or mean as in watch out for the boss - he: hell on