10 English idioms about houses to drive home your essay’s message
- What’s the difference between a house and a home? A house is a physical space where people live, while a home is a place that people feel emotionally attached to
- Once you incorporate these useful phrases into your next assignment, it is sure to be home and dry
Home is where the heart is. Photo: ShutterstockThis week, we look at 10 English idioms related to the theme of houses and homes, as well as two Cantonese sayings about getting a foot on the property ladder.
1. Put one’s house in order
Meaning: to make one’s own affairs right, before or instead of criticising someone else
Example: Before criticising his peer’s academic performance, Matthew should focus on improving his grades to put his house in order.
2. Home in on
Meaning: to find and move directly towards someone or something; to find and give a lot of attention to someone or something
Example: My sister has been homing in on these time periods to prepare for her history exam.
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3. Drive something home
Meaning: to make something clearly understood by using repeated or forcefully direct arguments
Example: The author’s conclusion drove home the importance of talking openly about our feelings.
4. Bring something home to someone
Meaning: to make someone fully aware of how serious or important a problem, danger or situation is
Example: Watching the documentary really brought home to me the severity of the climate crisis.
5. A house of cards
Meaning: a complicated organisation that can easily be destroyed, or a complex plan that can easily go wrong
Example: Although the student union was able to quickly put together a new proposal, the plan is just a house of cards filled with vague, unrealistic goals.
6. Home truth
Meaning: an uncomfortable truth that someone may not want to hear
Example: We spent months avoiding the topic, but in the end, we needed to tell our friend a few home truths.
7. A house divided against itself cannot stand
Meaning: if members of a group fight against each other, the group will fall apart
Example: Not only does our debate team face fierce opposition from our rival school, but our members are also constantly bickering – a house divided against itself cannot stand.
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8. Be home and dry
Meaning: to have successfully finished something
Example: For this course, we only have to complete our final assessment, and then we will be home and dry.
9. It takes a village to raise a child
Meaning: a proverb about how an entire community is responsible for teaching a child and providing them with a safe and healthy environment in which to grow
Example: The government must provide more support for parents because it takes a village to raise a child.
10. A house is not a home
Meaning: a house is just a physical structure, while a home is where one feels safe and happy
Example: Selena spent all of her time working to earn enough money for a luxurious flat, only to find that a house is not a home.
Here’s a couple of phrases in Cantonese slang ...
1. 上車 soeng5 ce1 (serng-che): “to get in the car”
Meaning: to buy a first home, house or flat as an investment. Similar to how people get on and off public transport, Hongkongers use this term to describe how people buy their first home and invest in other properties in the future.
In English: to get a foot on the property ladder
Example: Many young people in Hong Kong are pressured to buy overpriced flats just so they can serng-che.
2. 縮水樓 suk1 seoi2 lau4 (soak-sui-lau): “shrinking building”
Meaning: refers not only to small homes, but also real estate developers’ misleading tactics to make buyers believe a flat’s usable space is bigger than it actually is
In English: shrinking flat; tiny apartment
Example: First-time home buyers in Hong Kong can only afford the notorious soak-sui-lau.