Group Nine: ??? ?? ??? ???

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British and Chinese Idioms about Food

• Group Nine ??? ?? ??? ???

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Outline

• Introduction
• British Culture in Food Idioms
• Chinese Culture in Food Idioms
• Causes of the Differences between British and
  Chinese Food Idioms
• Conclusion

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Introduction

• Idioms, namely the idiomatic phrases, include
  proverbs, sayings, colloquialisms, allusions,
  slangs and enigmatic folk similes, etc.
• They are the long-lasting practical production
  of human beings, reflecting abundant cultural
  heritages with apparent national and local
  characteristics.

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• They are closely related to national
  geographical environment, historical backgrounds,
  modes of production, economic life, customs and
  habits, religious belief, psychological states,
  concepts of value and many other aspects.

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• Bread is the staff of life(?????). Diet is a
  major issue of our daily life. Many idioms in
  different languages come from their local dietary
  culture. An increasing number of food phrases
  are developing into idioms which are used
  frequently. They have various forms of
  expression, which bring vigor and color to
  languages.

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British Culture in Food Idioms

• You are what you eat. This saying is often
  used by nutritionists to advocate better eating
  habits. But we can understand this sentence from
  another point of view what we eat reflects our
  features and culture.
• We focus on four kinds of food which play
  important parts in British culture.

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• Tea
• Milk
• Pudding
• Bread

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Tea

• Tea is one of the traditional drinks in
  Britain. Dating back to the beginning of the
  16th century, the Dutchmen introduced Chinese tea
  to Europeans. Tea was loved by the British
  people at first taste in spite of its high price.
  Here are some idioms about tea.

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• High tea (??)
• It is a formal kind of refreshments eaten at
  nightfall, similar to a light supper, including a
  hot dish and a pot of tea, which is especially
  popular in Northern England and Scotland.
  Comparatively, Low tea is a simple in the
  afternoon.

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• For all the tea in China ?????????
• In the 16th century of Britain, tea produced
  in China was sold at an extremely high price. It
  was beyond evaluation for all the tea in China.
  However, this idiom is often used in negative
  sentences, with a meaning that (one would not do
  something) even if given all the tea in China,
  which implies (one wont do something) at any
  rate.

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Milk

• In Great Britain, animal husbandry is well
  developed, and milk is of high quality. Every
  morning the milkman will deliver milk to the
  households. Cream pudding and milk tea are
  common dairy products. As a result, a list of
  milk idioms turns up.

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• Come home with the milk ???????
• This is a crack joke in English. It analogizes
  that someone stays out all night, and returns
  home when the milk is delivered.
• Suck in with ones mothers milk ???????(????)

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Pudding

• In addition to bread, milk and egg, pudding is
  also fond of by British people. Pudding is a
  dessert made from flour, milk, eggs and fruits,
  and usually filled with meat.

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• To over-egg the puddings ????,????
• A proper proportion of water, eggs and flour
  are necessary for making puddings. Too much egg
  (over-egg) will lead the flour less fermented,
  and puddings wont be fluffy and elastic. This
  idiom expresses the idea that someone has done
  more than is necessary, or has added unnecessary
  details to make something seem better or worse
  than it really is.

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Bread

• Though crop farming doesnt play an important
  role in British agriculture, the output of wheat
  is of a high level, which makes bread one of the
  staple foods in Britain. Bread is a common sight
  in their livelihood, especially indispensable in
  their breakfast.

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• bread and butter refers to basic needs of life
  (like food, shelter, and clothing)
• the greatest thing since sliced bread means the
  most popular person or thing
• earn ones bread ????
• take the bread out of ones mouth ?????

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Food Idioms in Chinese Culture

• Different from Britain, Chinas staple food is
  rice and wheaten food. People developed
  diversified cooking methods. Foods such as rice,
  steamed bun, steamed twisted roll, noodle and
  dumplings are constantly eaten. Therefore, many
  idioms about rice and wheaten food emerged.

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• For instance, the rice is cooked(??????) means
  whats done cant be undone.
• The phrase even a clever housewife cannot cook a
  meal without rice(????????) has a similar
  meaning to the English idiom you cannot make
  bricks without straw.

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• ??????? Never yield to materialistic rewards.
• A conclusion can be drawn that rice and wheaten
  food in China is not second to bread in Britain.

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• Geographical environment
• Religious belief
• Eating habits and customs
• Modes of production
• Historical backgrounds

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Geographical Environment

• Britain is an island country surrounded by the
  sea and ocean. The tortuous and long coast line
  and deepwater ports provide the development of
  navigation and fishing industries with favorable
  conditions. This geographical position makes
  fishing the major mode of production in Britain.

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• As a result, the British people eat much more
  fish than vegetables. All these factors promote
  the self-development of Britain and have a great
  impact on the formation of the English language,
  thus giving birth to the seafood idioms which are
  consequently used by British people.

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• (1) Idioms rooted in fishing
• Hook ones fish ????,??????????,??
• Have other fish to fry ????????????
• Catch fish with a silver hook ????,??????,?????,??
  ?????
• Fish for ??????????

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• (2) Some idioms about fish in English with
  special origins bear the unique cultural
  characteristics of English nation.
• neither fish, flesh, nor fowl ????
• In the Middle Ages, fish are eaten by monks
  and priests, meat (flesh) are eaten by ordinary
  people, and fowl are eaten by the poor.
• Make fish of one and flesh of another(?????,?????
  ????) is a similar one.

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• Fish idioms in Chinese dont appear as frequently
  as that in English, and the character ?(fish)
  has many connotative meanings.
• a land of fish and rice (????) indicates a
  well-watered place where fish and rice are
  abundant.
• every year has enough fish to eat(????)
  suggests more than sufficient every year.

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• China has massive land, and it has been an
  agricultural nation since ancient time. We have
  flourishing crop farming, which produces rich
  food crops and vegetables.
• Meat products and aquatic products are far less
  than vegetables.
• Therefore, there are many idioms about vegetables
  in Chinese.

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• ?????? old ginger is hotter than new one---the
  veterans are abler than recruits
• ???? in a melon patch or under a plum treein
  suspicious circumstances or surroundings
• ???? (spring up like) bamboo shoots after a
  spring rain
• ????,???? every potter praises his own pot.
• ???? an easy job or task is relevant to a piece
  of cake

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• ???? the lotus root snaps but its fibers stay
  joined(of lovers, etc.) still in contact though
  apparently separated
• ??????? one radish, one holeeach has his own
  task, and nobody is dispensable
• ????,???? every man has his taste
• ??????????? What has he got up his sleeve?
• ????????? a pig is sticking scallions into its
  nostrils to pretend to be an elephant

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• Idioms about vegetables in English are less and
  limited to some regularly eaten food such as
  potato, onion and pumpkin.
• Couch potato a person spends a lot of time
  sitting and watching television
• Full of beans having a lot of energy
• Ginger group a group of people within political
  party or an organization, who work to persuade
  other members to accept their policies or ideas

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Religious Belief

• In Western countries, most people believe in
  Christianity, so there are some food idioms
  derived from religious belief.
• While most Chinese people believe in Buddhism,
  Taoism, Confucianism, etc. We can find food
  idioms in many related classical works.

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• Red bean stew(?????) comes from the Bible.
  Essau sells his birthright to Jacob who is his
  younger brother for some red-bean stew. Later,
  this idiom is used to indicate forgetting what is
  right at the sight of profit, or getting material
  benefits at a high cost.

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• An apple of Sodom/ a Dead Sea
  apple(?????/????)
• According to the Old Testament, Sodom is a
  city by ancient Dead Sea. Because the citizens
  there are wallowing in luxury and pleasure, and
  they are guilty of the most heinous crimes, God
  burn the city down. All the citizens crops and
  livestock are burnt to ashes. Legend has that by
  the Dead Sea grows a kind of apple with beautiful
  appearance, which will become ashes once it is
  picked. Afterwards, an apple of Sodom/ a Dead
  Sea apple is used to say something that is not
  worth its value, which is equivalent to the
  Chinese saying fair without foul
  within(????,????) or to appear better than it
  is(????).

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• Milk and honey
• Milk and honey denotes abundance and ease.
  This first occurred in the Bible where God
  promises his followers to have a land flowing
  with milk and honey, an image of the divine
  blessings available in the Promised Land. A land
  of milk and honey can be translated into the
  Chinese saying ????.

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• ????,???? You cant have your cake and eat it
  too. (Mencius ??)
• ???? climb trees to catch/look for
  fishcannot get blood from a stone
• which means doing things by the wrong method.
  Some other similar sayings are milk the bull or
  seek roses in December. (Mencius ??)

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Conclusion

• British and Chinese idioms are gradually formed
  and summarized during peoples practice and life.
  In the British and Chinese languages, idioms
  differ in their rhetorical devices, linguistic
  construction, ways of expression and so on, which
  is due to their geographical environment, eating
  habits, religious belief, and many other aspects.
  Most idioms are derived from historical events,
  the Bible, mythological stories, classical works
  of literature, and fables.
• The study of British and Chinese idioms about
  food gives us a further understanding of their
  meanings and implications as well as their
  cultural background for later and better use.

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Thank you for your attention!