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Idioms are phrases that usually carry figurative meanings. At times they may even carry a literal meaning. Their figurative meanings are usually quite different from their literal ones, making idioms harder to understand.
Idioms usually arise out of popular use at some point in time in history.
Let's take a look at the origin of the following idiom:
"To burn the midnight oil"
Meaning: This idiom means to work late into the night.
Sentence example: I burnt the midnight oil revising for my exams.
Origin: When people still used oil lamps for lighting, the most desirable and expensive of oil was whale oil. To ‘burn the midnight oil’ meant that you had a project that was so important that you burned your expensive oil in your lamp late into the night in order to complete it.
Learn the history of idioms together with me and you'll have a story to tell whenever you use one. (Drop me a message if the lesson isn't visible as they may be in my Hidden Repository)
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