When one is faced with a sentence that does not make sense when taken literally, then most probably the sentence represents what is called an idiom. It would not help to try to look them up in dictionaries as they are rarely listed. There is however a book titled “Handbook of commonly used American Idioms,” by Adam Makkai, which lists over a thousand of these idioms from the English language, and as luck would have it including this one. According to the book, “rat race” means “…A way of living that does not seem to have a purpose.”

Idioms are phrases or words that have hidden meaning different than the literal meaning of the word or words forming the phrase. It usually expresses, in faster and more colorful way, how someone feels about something. An example of idiom in Arabic would be “wala ishi.” While people using the phrase do not mean the literal meaning of the phrase, which means “nothing,” in reality it is said to express awe. English like Arabic and Arabic slang is also full of idioms This book shares over a thousand commonly used idioms that are used in conversations, movies, and of course at work.

 Idioms at work are used quite extensively especially for informal conversations. Using acronyms definitely adds zest to a conversation and makes occasions they describe more memorable, meaningful, and easier to communicate, given the receiver understands the meaning. Some industries and lines of businesses use them more than others. For example, manufacturing and consulting are two of the industries where professionals use a lot of metaphors and idioms.

Some books pass as primarily fun reading, but might offer some business benefit on the side. This book is one of them. While it is not a business book per se, but the business world is a very common place for using idioms. If you are working with English speakers or communicating with them in your work, you might find this book very useful, both to express yourself or to understand what others are trying to say. Who knows, you might find a couple of idioms you personally feel fit for your specific situation and start using them with colleagues at work.

 Idioms have some resemblance to acronyms in that people like to use them often. Acronyms are abbreviations used to mean specific things in a specific industry or culture. Usually acronyms are used to short phrase a longer sentence and even sometimes as a tool to communicate mastery of a certain science or knowledge. Of course Acronyms use, while many people love them, is a bad practice as it hinders communication and accordingly is considered a communication barrier or blocker, so must be avoided as much as possible.

However, idioms are a different story. They are fun to use like acronyms but they do not seem to have as much of an alienating effect on others. Maybe because the words used are light and simple, and usually carry a funny connotation. Even if one does not exactly understand the meaning, the peculiarity of the idiom will probably make someone feel comfortable asking the idiom user what he meant by his statement.

Most of the idioms reviewed in the book are child safe, and not vulgar at all, with very few exceptions. The nice thing about the book is that it guides the reader on how common the idiom is and when it is appropriate to use it. It also warns whether the idiom is too vulgar to be used in general conversation, or too slang to be used in formal speech. Some of the idioms in the book are universally known to most English language users. For example the book includes idioms like “bottom line” and “keep track,” but also includes so many that are less familiar especially for those not accustomed to conversations with native english speakers. Examine for example: “pass the buck,” which means trying to lay blame on others. Other idioms are very expressive, “butter up,” is one such example which means trying to gain someone’s friendship through flattery. Perusing through the book, one will find some funny idioms like “monkey business,” which means doing something objectionable or unethical, and “yakety yak” which means talking too much unnecessarily.

 Even for sheer fun, the book is worth taking the time to flip through once in a while. Also, it can be a good reference when one hears a statement that does not make sense when translated literally. There is a good chance it is an idiom.

 What makes the book more interesting to read is the fact that it is edited by a linguistic professor, which might give more credibility to the accuracy of the idioms and their interpretation.

The book comes in almost 300 pages and was printed by different publishers in 2004 and in 1984.