A person learning English and wishing to speak the language fluently, with a real sense of the “Englishness” of the language, needs in his or her speech to use at least some idioms, sayings, and proverbs, to have them at his or her fingertips.
Mastering idiomatic expressions and reproducing them is one of the most difficult aspects of learning a foreign language. Students are often puzzled by the idiomatic structure of the language, but if they steer clear of the idiomatic usage, their speech and writing tend to become formal, inexpressive and tame.
It is obvious that a proverb or proverbial phrase, a crystallised summary of popular wisdom or fancy, is likely, or, indeed certain, to have been long current in popular speech before it could make any appearance in literature, or even in a collection of such lore.
Every language has a great many of its own proverbs and sayings. And it is interesting how often idiomatic expressions are similar in different languages. The explanation is simple: many idioms are translated from or based upon Greek or Latin originals, and many are taken from the Bible.
This article lists sayings and proverbs involving parts of the body. There are a great number of idiomatic coincidences in Russian and English: “an eye for an eye”, “to keep one’s head above water”, “two-faced”, “armed to the teeth”, etc.
However, one can easily discover that in the English language there are many more idiomatic expressions involving parts of the body than in the Russian language.
People who use them speak in a lively fashion, and aphoristically.
Proverbs and sayings also enliven one’s style of writing and make it more interesting and entertaining.
HEAD
1. Two heads are better than one. Ум хорошо, а два лучше.
2. to head off a quarrel предотвратить ссору
3. his head is screwed on the right/wrong way. у него голова на месте.
4. Heads or tails? Орел или решка?
5. head full of bees голова полна забот
6. to head руководить; вести
7. heading заголовок; рубрика
8. thick-headed, wooden-headed тугодум; глупец
9. pig-headed упрямый
10. Heady man and a fool may wear И умный и дурак могут носить the same cap. одинаковую кепку.
11. tо keep one’s head above water быть на плаву; держаться на плаву; справляться с трудностями
12. head over heels вверх тормашками
13. tо go out of one’s head cойти с ума
14. to have a man’s head under one’s girdle идти на поводу; подчиняться
15. from head to foot c головы до ног
FACE
1. The face is index of the mind. Лицо – зеркало души.
2. a face as long as a fiddle унылое; мрачное лицо.
3. face to face лицом к лицу
4. it is written all over his face. это у него на лбу написано
5. pretty-pretty face кукольное, смазливое лицо
6. pudding face толстая, бессмысленная физиономия
7. travel on one’s face жить в долг
8. before faces публично; в обществе
9. show a false face лицемерить; быть двуличным
10. two-faced (double-faced) двуличный
11. with a long face с грустным лицом
12. to draw faces корчить рожи
13. to have the face to say something иметь наглость сказать что-то
14. to face the music расплачиваться за свои поступки; расхлебывать кашу
15. My window faces the sea. Мое окно выходит на море.
16. to save face сохранить лицо
17. to face up to признавать, признаваться