Idioms

How To Insult People Idiomatically

We tend to reach some point wherein we really feel annoyed over someone or maybe, there are some things about that person that highly dislike or disapprove of. Saying these things directly may not be the best choice as it can aggravate heated conversations or arguments. Thus, we can resort to saying these indirectly. One of the ways that we can do that is by using idiomatic expressions to express or insult, annoyance, disapproval, etc.

Idiomatic expressions are words that are far from their literal meaning which is why these words can be perfectly used in this specific context. Say for example that you encounter someone whom you do not seem to feel trustworthy, instead of saying that the person is not trustworthy, we can use other words. Hairy at the heel means ill-bred, dangerous, or trustworthy. This specific statement can loosen up a heated discourse especially if the person does not know what this really means. By using these words instead of the direct ones, we avoid further backlash or negative responses.

Another example is the statement “all talk and no trousers” which can be interpreted as someone who talks much about doing certain things but all his talking does not have any actions to be accompanied after. This can be applied in situations like corruption of politicians or even when we encounter a person who likes to promise a lot of things but ends up not doing any of those.


There are various other statements that we can use to have a better explanation or expression of our disappointments or annoyance. The English language is very diverse and this specific topic, idiomatic expressions, is also diverse as well. As we explore more statements under these, we do not only learn how we can use these statements in our everyday occurrences but also, these statements can also help us bridge the path to enhance our knowledge of English.

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Elaine Abesamis

Elaine Marie I. Abesamis is currently a Senior High school student at Far Eastern University. During her elementary years until now, she is a consistent honor student. Apart from that, she has also a passion dedicated to writing. She joined the school publication in her Junior High school and served as a contributor there for the Feature, Science and Health, and Editorial Page. She is also a former member of the current senior high school’s Official Publication. She also has experience from joining various competitions and winning some of those. Moreover, she has also attended several trainings, workshops, and seminars for writing workshops. Apart from writing, she is also fond of reading which makes her vocabulary extend that can help her in writing. She expresses herself well through writing especially in essays and poems. She had also the experience of being a proofreader from an author and she also joined some organizations as a content writer for those.