How Jan Cured Poppy of a Tall Poppy Syndrome

There once lived a boy who was nicknamed as Poppy..

He hated kids' games, and saw no fun in hopping.

He never liked jokes, yet enjoyed for some reason

The process of bullying, mocking and teasing!

He mocked every girl in the neighbouring area,

And laughed at the waitresses at "Cafeteria".

He hated to see other children behave:

"I'll NEVER behave! You won't make me a slave!"

But the story'd be boring if this naughty young boy

Was the only one character. Really, no joy.

You may ask (or may not): "Who's the other one then?"

And we're happy to tell you it's lovable Jan.

Jan's a girl of a wonderful personality!

Though aged five she knows good what is "hospitality"!

And you'll never believe when you hear what we say:

Jan's a close friend of Poppy's from the very ... TODAY.

"Is it possible, really? Oh, Lord! Dare not lie!"

(We expect you to ask in a loud puzzled cry..)

But be patient, my friend, and be not scared to death -

Jan's not laughed at her manners or freshness of breath.

She's not bullied by Poppy, though she's such a charm,

And she always behaves being cheerful but calm.

Here's the story of how Jan met the strange little Poppy

Who was watching with hatred some grasshopper hopping.

"How disgusting it is to be green and big-eyed",

murmured Poppy. His voice made the grasshopper hide.

"How amazing it is to be big-eyed and green",

whispered Jan with excitement, watching the scene.


"Look, it jumps on a poppy!, exclaimed little Jan
"Poppy?", said little Poppy... "I don't understand...
Why was poppy named Poppy, and so named was I?
I have nothing in common with poppies! Oh my!


It's a Tall Poppy Syndrome, they say", on he went, 
"Oh, If only I knew what these silly words meant!"
"Never mind it", said Jan to the boy in a fury,
"It's not radioaktive, nor invented by Curie!


I will cure you from such an unwanted disorder"
So she said, being firm in placing her order
to smile and to laught at those things that are funny.
"Neither people, nor birds". "And what about bunnies?"


"No, no bunnies at all!", said the girl. "That won't do!
You should laugh when it's funny!Or don't simply do!
You should also stop being too picky and nosy.
And remember, oh Poppy, to be nice with Ms Rosy".


"I can do this! Of course! It's no trouble at all!
Will I then be no longer named Poppy, the Tall?
Will they stop criticising me, Jan, if I do
Stop criticising them all at once, too?"


And of course Jan said "yes"
Like when wishing to bless.
And we're likely to hope
Poppy'll turn into Pope
(Not that Pope of old Rome!)
with no Poppy syndrOme.

Written by Alyona Malinka (Wee Teacher). 

Inspired by Grinch Stole Christmas

Pictures taken from flikr.com and Art Gluttony

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Break a Leg!

Two young track-and-field athletes, Jim and Frank, are having a talk before the run of Jim’s: “You know, I wish you all the best today, Jim! Break a leg!” “Thank you, Frank! I’ll do my best.”

This conversation seems rather confusing, doesn’t it? But it’s not what some of you might think it is. Frank’s “Break a leg!” is far from being a wicked remark made out of envy of Jim’s possible success, as well as his skills. What’s more, Frank IS frank enough in wishing all the best to his friend. It sounds queer, yet Break a leg! is not said to mock the athlete, but to REALLY support him and wish him good luck.

It’s interesting to know that the phrase has a theatrical origin. I don’t mean to say it is originally used as an intent to get people’s attention. I mean it is related to theater performances. Why, the theatre is notoriously superstitious. Therefore it is believed that wishing “good luck” to your colleagues is deemed bad luck, a taboo to say. So “break a leg” used to be actually utteredd as an euphemism and is still employed to wish good luck to somebody, especially before some important event or performance, in precise.

I simply adore English for being such an ironic language at times, especially in the variety of puzzling idioms and catchphrases it has. It is always much fun to translate such phrases into Russian.

Imagine a situation in which an interpreter translates some idioms wrong. It can be either funny or causing some trouble. To avoid mistakes we should be aware of the existence of such false friends of interpreters and translators, and never be too selfassure to ignore checking words up in a dictionary or two.

Another funny example I like is a phrase “to have nothing upstairs”. Not quite sure if it is commonly used by English speakers, yet I saw it yesterday in my Idioms Dictionary and fell in love at first sight. Let’s see if you understand the meaning of it within the following context I’ve just made up:

“Did you hear Mary yesterday at the conference? She’s got a brain of a pigeon! She seems to have nothing upstairs!”

So, as you can see, English idioms are very funny and challenging indeed for a non-English-speaker to understand. I will be posting sometimes about my favorite ones to share my enthusiasm about them with you.

And you? Are there any funny idiomatic phrases YOU can recall of? Have you ever come across a problem of translating idioms? Do you think they may cause misunderstanding in comunication?

Please, share! .)

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