What we read
On page 37 of Skillful, Bixby and Scanlon (2013) use the usual large photograph and some discussion questions to introduce unit 4, whose title is "Fire".
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Bixby and Scanlon's question
We've just checked the meanings of some common English idioms about fire. Namely:
- to play with fire
- to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire
- Where there's smoke there's fire. and
- to come under fire.
- Now, think of a story, situation or experience that can be described by one of the expressions above. Explain how your story is an example of the idea in the expression.
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Reference
- Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education
In Thai saying we have "To escape from tiger but then encounter a crocodile" I think the meaning is similar to "to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire" It also mean that you face a dilemma between two difficulties that you can't avoid.
ReplyDeleteI like Orn's example of a Thai idiom, which also reminded me of another one, which think is Chinese, although i'm not sure. It says that "It's hard to get off a tiger once you mount it." The meaning is that after you start to do something, you can get caught and find it impossible to safely escape the situation you have created. I've recently seen writers for the Bangkok Post use this saying to describe the situation of some current Thai politicians.
DeleteBack in the 1990s, when the Thai economy seemed to be booming, my friend David was playing with fire. The value of real estate was increasing, so he started investing in condos in Bangkok. It seemed sensible, but the fire was approaching and suddenly it hit: in a couple of days in 1997, he lost half the value of his investments. HE was badly burned by the fire he had played with.
ReplyDeleteBut it got worse. He had lost a lot of money, and worried that it might lose more, he jumped out of the frying pan of the 50% loss by deciding to sell his Bangkok properties as quickly as possible. This landed him in the fire because even in Thai Baht, the value had dropped a lot, so he lost a lot more money by selling out.
When I thought of the saying "Where there's smoke there's fire," the first example that came to mind was the ongoing story of Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon's amazing collection of luxury watches. It is possible that there is no corruption corruption here, but the smoke that keeps rising suggests that there might be some fire that the general is trying desperately to extinguish.
Applying to just one university without any other place in mind. When I applied to an university by sending my portfolio, it was a risky move because if I am not qualified that mean I will have a lot of tough time preparing myself to taking many test to get a good score for apply to other university.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was studying in grade seven, one of my friends played with a fire. She had an argument with mean girls studying in grade 10 . After that for a month, they came to my classroom everyday to find my friend and threatened her, so my friend had to apologize them.
ReplyDeleteWhen we are driving in a bad traffic, we try to change driving lane to the other, but unfortunately we jump out of the frying pan into the fire. I think this situation fit the idiom. In Thai, we use tiger as frying pan and crocodile as fire like "Run from tiger to meet crocodile";however, it does not always means the latter is worse, just you thought you would be safe after doing something but you are actually not.
ReplyDeleteRunning a new business without experience
ReplyDeleteIf someone who just have a money but they don't have experiences how to run the business so it will make someone's lose their investment. For example, I am going to open the convenient store but I haven't learn how to run this business it means I'm going to play with fire!!!
I hope you don't get burned.
DeletePersonally, I don't have knowledge of using this kind of expressions. I think I rarely use this. I normally use direct expression instead. I cannot think of other example right now. But, I have heard "Don't play with fire" in Thai context as we just discuss. In Thai context, it means something like don't go to dangerous place. I also heard something similar to Where there's smoke there's fire. But, it is in Buddhism lesson where there's worried, there's happiness. It reminds us to be at present moment.
ReplyDeleteWhen preparing for a test without any preparation is like "playing with fire". Before doing any tests, students have to prepare and work hard to get a good grade. However, if students don't prepare and stay lazy, a result of the test is clearly low. This is like "playing with fire". Because if you don't know how to play, you may get burnt. But if you know the fire and "how to play" process, you will love the fire.
ReplyDelete