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Ballerina Posted 17 years ago
Vocabulary
Native speakers of English - HELP PLEASE!!!
Hello, everybody!
I'm a student of English who needs your help with some idioms in order to analyse them for my graduation paper.
The topic of my research is synonymy among idiomatic expressions. For the purpose of this research I have composed a questionnaire with seven questions that I would like you to answer, using your native speaker intuitions.
Each question is actually a list of idiomatic expressions whose meaning can be subsumed under the general heading which is underlined.
The main question for questions 1-5 is how synonymous the expressions are. In other words, do those expressions mean the same thing? The questions are open-ended and you can discuss as much as feel like, giving examples of contexts and explanations about how you feel about each expression.
The same goes for questions 6 and 7, with an additional task - put them in the order of intensity, with number 1 as the most intense.
My hypothesis is that speakers' opinions will vary as to the similarity of meaning. My task will be to compare the answers of all the participants of this research in my paper.
You can send me a private message with your answer.
Thank you very much for taking part in this project.
QUESTIONNAIRE
1) be confused or absent-minded
all at sea
all balled up
psyched out
wool-gathering
in a brown study
2) disturb a stable situation
rock the boat
make waves
cause ripples
create a stir
kick up dust / raise dust
fire up things
3) lose one' s mental sanity
lose your mind
go over the edge
go off your head
go round the bend
go soft in the head
take leave of your senses
go out of your mind
4) be in a state of anxiety or tense expectation
be on pins and needles
be like a cat on a hot tin roof
be like a cat on hot bricks
be on the hot seat
be on thorns
5) be in a very happy / blissful state
be in seventh heaven
be on cloud nine
tread on air
be on the top of the world
6) cry a lot and uncontrollably
cry like the rain
cry like a rainstorm
cry like a baby
cry buckets
cry your eyes/heart out
sob your heart out
turn on the waterworks
7) to work extremely hard
work like an ant
work like a maniac
work like crazy
work like a slave / nigger
burn the midnight oil
I'm a student of English who needs your help with some idioms in order to analyse them for my graduation paper.
The topic of my research is synonymy among idiomatic expressions. For the purpose of this research I have composed a questionnaire with seven questions that I would like you to answer, using your native speaker intuitions.
Each question is actually a list of idiomatic expressions whose meaning can be subsumed under the general heading which is underlined.
The main question for questions 1-5 is how synonymous the expressions are. In other words, do those expressions mean the same thing? The questions are open-ended and you can discuss as much as feel like, giving examples of contexts and explanations about how you feel about each expression.
The same goes for questions 6 and 7, with an additional task - put them in the order of intensity, with number 1 as the most intense.
My hypothesis is that speakers' opinions will vary as to the similarity of meaning. My task will be to compare the answers of all the participants of this research in my paper.
You can send me a private message with your answer.
Thank you very much for taking part in this project.
QUESTIONNAIRE
1) be confused or absent-minded
all at sea
all balled up
psyched out
wool-gathering
in a brown study
2) disturb a stable situation
rock the boat
make waves
cause ripples
create a stir
kick up dust / raise dust
fire up things
3) lose one' s mental sanity
lose your mind
go over the edge
go off your head
go round the bend
go soft in the head
take leave of your senses
go out of your mind
4) be in a state of anxiety or tense expectation
be on pins and needles
be like a cat on a hot tin roof
be like a cat on hot bricks
be on the hot seat
be on thorns
5) be in a very happy / blissful state
be in seventh heaven
be on cloud nine
tread on air
be on the top of the world
6) cry a lot and uncontrollably
cry like the rain
cry like a rainstorm
cry like a baby
cry buckets
cry your eyes/heart out
sob your heart out
turn on the waterworks
7) to work extremely hard
work like an ant
work like a maniac
work like crazy
work like a slave / nigger
burn the midnight oil
Top answer
ballerina 1) be confused or absent-minded all at sea all balled up psyched out wool-gathering in a brown study 2) disturb a stable situation rock the boat make waves cause ripples create a stir kick up dust / raise dust fire up things 3) lose one' s mental sanity lose your mind go over the edge go off your head go round the bend go soft in the head take leave of your senses go out of your mind 4) be in a state of anxiety or tense expectation be on pins and needles be like a cat on a hot tin roof be like a cat on hot bricks be on the hot seat be on thorns 5) be in a very happy / blissful state be in seventh heaven be on cloud nine tread on air be on the top of the world 6) cry a lot and uncontrollably cry like the rain cry like a rainstorm cry like a baby cry buckets cry your eyes/heart out sob your heart out turn on the waterworks 7) to work extremely hard work like an ant work like a maniac work like crazy work like a slave / *** burn the midnight oil
- ballerina 1) be confused or absent-minded all at sea all balled up psyched out wool-gathering in a brown study 2) disturb a stable situation rock the boat make waves cause ripples create a stir kick up dust / raise dust fire up things 3) lose one' s mental sanity lose your mind go over the edge go off your head go round the bend go soft in the head take leave of your senses go out of your mind 4) be in a state of anxiety or tense expectation be on pins and needles be like a cat on a hot tin roof be like a cat on hot bricks be on the hot seat be on thorns 5) be in a very happy / blissful state be in seventh heaven be on cloud nine tread on air be on the top of the world 6) cry a lot and uncontrollably cry like the rain cry like a rainstorm cry like a baby cry buckets cry your eyes/heart out sob your heart out turn on the waterworks 7) to work extremely hard work like an ant work like a maniac work like crazy work like a slave / *** burn the midnight oil
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6 Answers
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ballerina
1) be confused or absent-minded
all at sea
all balled up
psyched out
wool-gathering
in a brown study
2) disturb a stable situation
rock the boat
make waves
cause ripples
create a stir
kick up dust / raise dust
fire up things
3) lose one' s mental sanity
lose
00
The only ones that seem strange to this native speaker are 1) balled up& in a brown study.
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Hi,
I'm a student of English who needs your help with some idioms in order to analyse them for my graduation paper.
The topic of my research is synonymy among idiomatic expressions. For the purpose of this research I have composed a questionnaire with seven questions that I would like you to answer, using your native speaker intuitions.
Each question is actually a list
I'm a student of English who needs your help with some idioms in order to analyse them for my graduation paper.
The topic of my research is synonymy among idiomatic expressions. For the purpose of this research I have composed a questionnaire with seven questions that I would like you to answer, using your native speaker intuitions.
Each question is actually a list
00
Hi Ballerina,
I live in southwestern Ohio, USA, an area on a dialect boundary between Appalachian, middle American and Northeastern dialects. Here are my answers:
1) be confused or absent-minded
"All at sea" is the only choice I might use. "Psyched out" is not a synonym; it means something like "distracted". "All balled up", "wool-gathering" and "in a brown study
I live in southwestern Ohio, USA, an area on a dialect boundary between Appalachian, middle American and Northeastern dialects. Here are my answers:
1) be confused or absent-minded
"All at sea" is the only choice I might use. "Psyched out" is not a synonym; it means something like "distracted". "All balled up", "wool-gathering" and "in a brown study
00
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Hi, everybody!!
Anonymous, would you, please, write how old are you? it is relevant for the research. Thank you.
Anonymous, would you, please, write how old are you? it is relevant for the research. Thank you.
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