I wonder how people come with their own expressions not in idiom dictionaries.
I didn't gather what I've encountered before, so I'm listing just one example.
On another forum there was a new member asking a question about how to play a game. He said "This is my first time posting on here, so try not to kill the fresh meat, k?"
'kill the fresh meat'...I get the meaning, but I couldn't find the phrase in any of the idiom dictionaries I have, so I'm assuming he made it.
So...what am I supposed to be able to make such creative expressions? Reading, listening, speaking and whatnot is the answer I'm expecting, but I don't seem to have become more creative after years of
doing them.
Top answer
Hi, Do you have, and make, similar idiomatic expressions in your own native language? If I studied your language, how long would it take me to speak in that way? Best wishes, Clive
— Clive
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Yes. And how long it would take, I think, depends. Many people I know whose mother tonuge isn't English can talk like that, and they've lived in the U.S. shorter than I have. ;(