Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
need an idiom to
English answer:
For English speakers appreciating flowers is merely a figure of speech
Added to glossary by
Charles Davis
May 26, 2015 06:18
8 yrs ago
2 viewers *
English term
need an idiom to
English
Art/Literary
Tourism & Travel
Fleur Universelle & Les Grands Arbres
English speakers might need an idiom to make them stop and smell the roses, but in fanatically floral Japan flowers are an integral part of everyday life, celebrated in both nationwide Hanami festivals and the traditional spiritual art form of Ikebana floristry.
In fact, so batty for blooms are many Tokyoites that the capital has sprouted a number of cute cafes set inside florists, perfect for those that prefer their pot of tea with a side of tulips.
what does " need an idiom to" mean? Thanks in advance!
English speakers might need an idiom to make them stop and smell the roses, but in fanatically floral Japan flowers are an integral part of everyday life, celebrated in both nationwide Hanami festivals and the traditional spiritual art form of Ikebana floristry.
In fact, so batty for blooms are many Tokyoites that the capital has sprouted a number of cute cafes set inside florists, perfect for those that prefer their pot of tea with a side of tulips.
what does " need an idiom to" mean? Thanks in advance!
Change log
Jun 1, 2015 03:33: Charles Davis Created KOG entry
Responses
+5
34 mins
Charles Davis
Spain
Spain
Native in English
&
English
Specializes in field
Spain
Related KudoZ points
:
12
Selected
For English speakers appreciating flowers is merely a figure of speech
An idiom is a set phrase, an established expression with some metaphorical (or at least non-literal) meaning.
"Stop and smell the roses" is an idiom in English, meaning "To relax; to take time out of one's busy schedule to enjoy or appreciate the beauty of life."
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stop_and_smell_the_roses
So what this means is that English speakers only think of "stopping and smelling the roses" as an idiom, a figure of speech, not as something they actually do routinely, unlike the Japanese. When they say this, they are not referring to literally stopping and smelling flowers. Except when they use the idea of "smelling the roses" as an idiomatic expression, they don't pay much attention to flowers. So they "need an idiom" to make them think of or speak of flowers like this.
"Stop and smell the roses" is an idiom in English, meaning "To relax; to take time out of one's busy schedule to enjoy or appreciate the beauty of life."
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stop_and_smell_the_roses
So what this means is that English speakers only think of "stopping and smelling the roses" as an idiom, a figure of speech, not as something they actually do routinely, unlike the Japanese. When they say this, they are not referring to literally stopping and smelling flowers. Except when they use the idea of "smelling the roses" as an idiomatic expression, they don't pay much attention to flowers. So they "need an idiom" to make them think of or speak of flowers like this.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
: yes, a fuller explanation
3 mins
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Thanks! I failed to refresh the screen before posting this time and didn't see Demi's.
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| agree |
Arabic & More
40 mins
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Thanks, Amel :)
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| agree |
Peter Simon
54 mins
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Thanks, Peter :)
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| disagree |
Dr. Ellen Yutzy Glebe
: I think it's too strong to say that English speakers don't appreciate the smell of the flowers. The original says that they are prompted to appreciate the smell by the idiom. Not that they don't appreciate it.
1 hr
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It says that they NEED an idiom to make them do it, which means that without an idiom they don't do it. It doesn't mean the idiom makes them appreciate the smell; the point is that when they use the idiom they are not actually thinking of flowers.
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| agree |
Tony M
: This is not "too strong", it is simply an explanation of the notion! And the author's use of 'need' implies a certain 'strength', albeit of course in a jocular vein :-)
1 hr
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Thanks, Tony. Precisely!
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| agree |
Shera Lyn Parpia
: with your explanation above, what else can I do but agree?
7 hrs
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Thank you :-)
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| agree |
AllegroTrans
16 hrs
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Thanks!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you all!"
13 mins
Julia Ilina
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Native in English
&
English
Specializes in field
Russian Federation
Word is the greatest weapon of life
Native in: English (Variant: UK) 
, Russian (Variant: Standard-Russia)
Works in: Russian to English, English to Russian, Russian to German, and 57 more.
something special
Something special may make English speakers stop and smell roses
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Tony M
: 'an idiom' doesn't really mean 'something special', and I think you have rather missed the point of the author's witty remark.
2 hrs
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+5
32 mins
. . . it is an idiom
"Stop and smell the roses" IS an idiom.
The author was writing in a humorous manner, contrasting English persons with the Japanese. Further in the passage, the author uses the jocular, "batty for blooms" . . . another context clue as to the humorous tone of the writing.
The author was writing in a humorous manner, contrasting English persons with the Japanese. Further in the passage, the author uses the jocular, "batty for blooms" . . . another context clue as to the humorous tone of the writing.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
5 mins
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Thank you, Gallagy.
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| agree |
B D Finch
1 hr
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Thank you, Barbara.
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| agree |
Tony M
1 hr
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Thank you, Tony.
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| agree |
AllegroTrans
16 hrs
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Thank you, AllegroTrans.
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| agree |
Jean-Claude Gouin
18 hrs
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Thank you, 1045.
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+1
1 hr
Dr. Ellen Yutzy Glebe
Germany
Germany
Native in English
&
English
Works in field
Germany
Writing History: Scholarship with Style
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, English
(need prompting to)
It means those from English-speaking cultures are less appreciative of flowers and need prompting. The Japanese, in contrast, are more likely to spontaneously notice and seek out beautiful flowers.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Charles Davis
: I don't think the writer is suggesting that the idiom prompts people to stop and smell roses. He/she means that, as a rule, they only "stop and smell roses" metaphorically (when they use the idiom), and are not talking about literally smelling flowers.
12 mins
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| neutral |
B D Finch
: As Demi has pointed out, the writer is using humour here. I think s/he is also deliberately exaggerating.
33 mins
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| neutral |
Tony M
: Totally agree with Charles's comment: this would be far too literal an interpretation here.
34 mins
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| agree |
Roman Bardachev
13 hrs
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Discussion
Couldn't agree more with your even fuller explanation! This is exactly what I understood by the writer's phrase when I first read it, though I wouldn't have been able to explain it nearly so well as you have. Thanks!
Whether or not it is true that English-speaking people don't appreciate flowers is beside the point. Some do, some don't. The question is what the author means. And as Demi points out, this is obviously meant humorously.
This literally appears to be saying that an idiom (clearly the idiom "stop and smell the roses") makes English-speaking people stop and smell roses. But I think it is inconceivable that the writer actually means that. When people say "stop and smell the roses", they don't suddenly think it would be nice to go and find some roses to smell. It surely means that stopping and smelling the roses, for English-speaking people, is merely an idiom, whereas for Japanese people it is literally a part of normal experience. When the author says that for the Japanese "flowers are an integral part of everyday life", the implication is clearly that for English-speaking people, by contrast, flowers are not an integral part of everyday life. They are a metaphor. Of course this is (and must be intended to be) a humorous exaggeration.