Проект "Идиомы в спорте"

Муниципальное бюджетное общеобразовательное учреждение

«Гимназия № 1 имени Н.М. Пржевальского»

Паспорт индивидуального итогового проекта

“Idioms in sport”   «Идиомы в спорте».

Учебная дисциплина:   английский язык

Тип проекта:  информационно-исследовательский

Работа ученика 9 класса

Степанова Александра Дмитриевича

Руководитель проекта: 

Алексеева Лариса Васильевна

Смоленск

2021

Contents

I. Introduction

1. Relevance and importance of idioms nowadays

2. Aims and goals

II. Idioms in the English language and their application in Sports

1. The Definition of a term idiom

2. Idioms in sport

III. Conclusion

IV. Literature

V. Supplement 1

I.                  Introduction

When learning English, we often encounter expressions whose meaning is difficult to understand, despite the fact that we know the translation of all the individual words. Such expressions are called idioms and play an important role, giving the speech a bright emotional color.

English idioms need to be known in order to make it easier to understand those for whom English is a native language. Having studied in advance all the popular expressions of the English, you can feel free in any English-speaking company. In addition, the study of idioms enriches and diversifies the vocabulary, helps to understand the meaning of the original English texts.

English expressions adorn the speech, give a speech, expressiveness, figurativeness. Analyzing them, you can trace the history of the country, partially get acquainted with its customs and traditions. Therefore, the study of English idioms is a very urgent problem today.

Of particular interest to me are idioms used in connection with the sporting life of the UK and other English-speaking countries.

Most of the British are real sports fans. Even if they don't do any sports, they like to talk about them.

The UK has spawned a number of major international sports, including football, Rugby, cricket, Golf, tennis, badminton, squash, water Polo, Boxing, snooker, Darts, Billiards and Curling. London was the venue for the 1908 and 1948 Olympic games, and in 2012 was the first city to host the Olympics three times.

The British use a large number of idioms on sports topics. Sport gave us a lot of winged expressions that have become popular all over the world. So I chose to study this topic.

2. Goals and objectives of the abstract

The purpose of my research is to describe and analyze English idioms related to the development of sport.

 To achieve this goal it is necessary to solve the following tasks:

- to study the theoretical material, various sources on the topic;

- create a thematic dictionary of English idioms related to sports, which will help us to understand their meaning, to use in English lessons and in further communication.

Material for my research was Russian and English idioms from phraseological sources: comprehensive English-Russian phraseological dictionary (A.V. koonin 2005); a Concise Russian-English phraseological dictionary (Gurevich, J. A. Dozoretz 1988), and idioms found in the Internet.

II. Idioms in the English language and their application in Sports

1.     The Definition of a term idiom

The term "idioms" was first introduced by the English linguist L. P. Smith. He wrote that the word idiom is used in English to refer to the grammatical structure of combinations, although very often the meaning of these combinations can not be explained from a grammatical and logical point of view.

An idiom (Greek idiōma is an expression) is unique to this language, a single expression whose value does not match the value of its component words taken individually.

Idioms are not a separate part of the language that can be used or not used – they form an essential part of the General English dictionary.

It should be emphasized the most important fact: idioms are not only colloquial expressions, as many people believe. They can be used both in formal style of speech and in slang. They can be found in poetry, movies, newspaper articles.

You can't learn English idioms, you can only learn them.

Some of the English idioms have analogues in Russian (for example, "it,s neck and neck" literally translates as "nostril to nostril" and has the same meaning, "below the belt" - "below the belt" , etc.), and their meaning is clear.

Yet many English idioms have no analogues in the Russian language.

The subject of idioms affects many areas of English life. There are religious idioms, scientific, sports and cultural idioms, idioms related to art, natural phenomena. In my work I will analyze idioms related to the sport life of great Britain.

2. Idioms in sport

National sport in England is football. This sport plays a huge role in the development of English culture. Here he came and here was established the rules of his game. Football Association of England was founded in 1863. However, the world champion team of this country became only once in 1966 at home.

England has the largest number of football clubs. Both professionals and Amateurs are engaged in this sport.

The most common football idiom is the expression "to kick off". The so-called first strike, which takes out the ball from the midfield into the game. This idiom can be translated as "start", "give start".

Another equally well-known idiom "to watch from the sidelines" literally translates to "look from the sideline of the field" and means "to be a bystander; to stay away".

Born football expression "to be on the ball", meaning literally "to be on the ball" has acquired a broader meaning "to be agile, to act quickly."

The football idiom "to know the score" - "to know the score" is also used outside the sport to mean "to be knowledgeable, informed, well versed in anything".

Football idioms are also commonly used:

"to move the goalposts" – literally "move the goal bar" meaning "change the rules of the game»;

"to score an own goal" – literally "to score a goal in their own goal" in the sense of "unintentionally worsen the situation»;

"play the field" - literally "play all over the field" in the sense of "scatter, grab all at once" and others.

Another sport no less popular in England is cricket. This is a team game consisting of 11 players. It uses a ball and a bat. Players alternately hit the ball on the field. In addition, you need to score as many points and prevent the opponent. The rules of this game were drawn up 300 years ago, but young people still play it with great pleasure.

In cricket, the game takes place outdoors, so the rain creates serious problems for the normal continuation of the game on the wet grass. It's just a sticky wicket! This gave rise to the idiomatic expression "sticky wicket", which is used to mean "embarrassing situation".

Another well-known expression born of the game of cricket, "have one's innings", meaning "to have your turn, your sequence", corresponding to the Russian expression "all its time."

The British are very fond of such a sport as tennis. Currently, it is in England is the most famous tennis tournament in the world - Wimbledon tournament. This sport can be called one of the most expensive species, but, at the same time, the inhabitants of England from an early age engaged in it.

It is from tennis originates the famous idiom "ball is in (someone's) court" – the next step for someone, the ball on (your) side, which thus denotes which of the players should be served. You must decide what to do – the ball is in your court now.

In addition, often used another tennis expression "the ball is in your court", meaning "now it's up to you; now it's your turn to act."

Along with tennis is a sport like horse racing. From time immemorial, only aristocrats and members of the Royal family were engaged in it. Every year in the city of Ascot are Royal racing Royal Askot, which is always a Queen.

In addition to racing, in England is popular and another type of equestrian competition - Polo. This is a fairly young sport. It appeared in this country in the 19th century and is also considered a privilege of aristocrats, as it requires large financial investments.

The popularity of equestrian sports has led to the frequent use of idioms such as:

"home straight (stretch)" – at the finish line. This is the name of the last distance traveled at the races. I've been preparing for the exam since last Monday, but I'm finally on the home straight;

"win by a neck (win by a nose)" – win barely. Indeed, sometimes only the photo finish is able to determine which of the horses came first;

"neck and neck" - nostril-to-nostril. The two parties were neck and neck in the last election;

"down to the wire" - until the last moment, until emphasis. Before a race horse crossed the finish line (wire).The round table talks went down to the wire.

England is the ancestor of another popular sport in the world - Boxing.

Boxing is a contact sport, martial arts, in which athletes strike each other with fists in special gloves. Modern Boxing originated in England in the early XVIII century. The first champion in Boxing was the Englishman James Figg, he continued to remain for fifteen years, thanks to the special at that time fighting technique. The most famous English boxers were Joe Calzaghe, Carl Froch, Tyson fury, David Haye and others.

Boxing slang gave rise to many stable expressions, such as:

hit (someone) below the belt – strike below the belt;

down (out) for the count – loser. As you know, a fallen boxer must stand on his feet before the judge counts to ten. Otherwise he will lose the match. Our candidate Norton was down for the count in the run-off;

throw in the towel/sponge – admit defeat. Another running expression from the box: a towel thrown into the ring as a confirmation of defeat boxer. Our company competitor thread in the towel when the tender results were announced;

saved by the bell – avoided a bad situation at the last minute. When the case of the boxer is very bad, he is knocked out, the judge keeps the score to ten, and he did not get to his feet, the last salvation for him may be a blow of the Gong when the round ends. Then the boxer can in between rounds to recover slightly and to continue the fight. We were saved by the bell when we saw a village lights in a dark forest.

Running – one of the oldest sports, it is the most natural and natural for humans. In the middle of the XVII century in England were widespread competition of professional runners, and 100 years later were made the first runs on long distances.

In the last century, athletics began to be cultivated in many countries of Europe and America. And when the Olympic games were revived in 1896, athletics took a leading position in them, and running, as well as 2500 years ago, became the main type of Olympic competitions.

The popularity of running in England rivals the popularity of football. This fact contributed to the appearance of the following idioms:

have the inside track – have an advantage. As you know, the distance along the inner track of the stadium is shorter, which gives an advantage to the athlete running on it;

hand (pass) the torch/baton to (someone) – cede responsibility or a duty different. This phrase is based on the well-known transfer of the baton from one runner to another in the relay races. The board of directors handed the torch to new executive director.

British baseball is a team sports game with a baseball and a bat, common in Wales and England. The competition involves two teams of nine players each. The goal of the game is to score more points/runs than the opposing team. The point is scored when the player of the team playing in the attack runs through all the bases located in the corners of the square.

In England, baseball is played by adults and children from an early age, because this game has simple rules available for all ages.

Baseball idioms date back to medieval chivalry, for example:

step up to the plate – accept the challenge, get ready to complete the task. The government should step up to the plate and face its responsibility;

go to bat for (someone) – to help (someone). This expression came from baseball, where a tired player can sometimes be replaced by another, thus helping him. We went to bat for Mark when he was dismissed.

come to bat – face a difficult task, a hard test.

get to first base – to achieve the first success, to take the first steps in any business.

In addition to these, England is the ancestor of other sports such as Rugby, Golf, shuffleboard, squash, swimming and others.

All these sports have become a source of phraseological units.

In English, a large number of phraseological units of General orientation:

beat the gun (jump the gun) – to be ahead of events, to make a false start;

to be nowhere - not to be among the finalists, hopelessly behind;

second wind – a second wind, a new burst of energy;

set the pace (make the running) – set the pace, be a leader.

More detailed information on this subject is provided in the attached thematic dictionary.

III. Conclusion

On the basis of the above it can be noted that the theme of my work is relevant in connection with the ever-growing interest of Russian citizens to the development of sports and the desire of the younger generation to lead a healthy lifestyle.

In addition, a characteristic feature of the modern world is the expansion of the boundaries of communication between the population of different countries. In the context of international tension, biased attitude of Western countries to the policy pursued by Russia, sport can become a point of contact that will unite citizens of different States and allow them to establish communication. In this regard, knowledge of the English language and its features, including idiomatic expressions, is very important.

I have studied several sources on the idioms of modern English, analyzed about 150 idioms related to the sports life of the UK and other English-speaking countries. This made it possible to create a thematic dictionary of idioms, which can be used in English lessons as additional material or in speaking.

IV. Literature

1. Электронные ресурсы:

https://www.englishdom.com/skills/phrasebook/wordset/sportivnye-idiomy/ https://akyla.net/idiomy-i-citaty-na-anglijskom/244-idiomy-i-citaty/4880 https://www.kaplaninternational.com/ru/blog/anglijskie-idiomu-o-sporte

2. Большой англо-русский фразеологический словарь. А.В. Кунин. 2005.

3. Краткий русско-английский фразеологический словарь Гуревич, Ж.А. Дозорец. 1988.

Supplement 1

THEMATIC DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH SPORTS IDIOMS

В

back the wrong horse – делать неверный выбор. Mary backed the wrong horse in buying a house.

ball is in (someone's) court – следующий шаг за кем-то, мяч на (вашей) стороне, где таким образом обозначается, кому из игроков следует подавать.

ballpark estimate/figure – приблизительная оценка. According to ballpark figure our market share is 15%.

bat a thousand – быть успешным во всем, что вы делаете. Old Ted was batting a thousand during all his life.

be off one’s base - не на своём месте; ошибаться, заблуждаться (бейсбол).

be off the bit – не чувствовать над собой контроля, расслабиться.

be on a sticky wicket - быть в затруднении, стоять перед трудной задачей (крикет).

be out for the count – быть нокаутированным, потерпеть поражение, погибнуть (бокс).

be right down (или up) ones alley – быть на своём месте (бейсбол).

beat the gun – успеть сделать что-то до того, как время закончится, опережать события, делать фальстарт. We want to beat the gun and get an early-bird discount.

behind the eight ball – в невыгодном положении. Pavel was behind the eight ball when he discovered that he have to pay for his friends.

blow the whistle on (someone) – разоблачать кого-то. Буквально: свистеть в свисток на кого-то. Происходит от игровых видов спорта, в которых судья свистит в свисток, когда кто-то нарушает правила. He fled the country after he blew the whistle on the organization.

blow-by-blow account (description) – детальный отчет или описание. Tina gave her boss a blow-by-blow account of the talks.

bounce (something) off (someone) – проверять реакцию другого на вашу идею. He bounced his unrealistic plans off me.

buy money – ставить самую большую ставку на фаворита.

С

carry the ball – нести ответственность за что-нибудь. Jane carried the ball for the project’s financial results.

catch smb. off first base – застать кого–то вне первой базы (бейсбол).

catch smb. on the rebound – отбить мяч на отскоке (теннис).

come in a close second - едва не стать первым в чем-то. David came in a close second in the city championship.

come out swinging – активно защищать себя или то, во что вы верите, начинать нападать на кого-то с самого начала. Both politicians came out swinging in the television debate.

come to bat – столкнуться с трудной задачей, тяжёлым испытанием.

come to grips with smb. (something) – схватится (о борцах) (борьба).

come up to the bit – быть послушным, податливым.

D

dive in headfirst – совершать импульсивный поступок, не думая о последствиях. She dived in headfirst into romance.

dive right into (something) приступать к чему-либо без промедления. Сходу нырять в воду, как некоторые пловцы.All members of our team dived right into the new project.

down (out) for the count – проигравший. Как известно упавший боксер должен встать на ноги до того, как судья сосчитает до десяти. Иначе он проиграет матч. Our candidate Norton was down for the count in the run-off.

down to the wire - до последнего момента, до упора. Раньше на скачках лошади пересекали финишную ленту (wire).

drop the ball - сделать ошибку. The authority dropped the ball on their decision to forbid the meeting.

E

even the score – сравнять счёт; сквитаться, занять равное положение.

F

fighting chance – возможность успеха, зависящая от напряженности усилий. This order was a fighting chance for our startup.

foul ball – неправильно сыгранный мяч; неудачник (бейсбол).

front runner – лучший из кандидатов, лидер. Tamara is the front runner for this project.

full-court-press – оказание давления на кого-то общими усилиями. They used a full-court press in order to make their daughter reject marriage proposal.

G

game changer – некто или нечто, изменяющее ход событий. Getting government contract can be a game changer for our company.

get the ball rolling – начинать что-нибудь. Let's get the ball rolling on this project tomorrow.

get to (reach) first base with – достигать прогресса в отношениях или делах.      I did not reach first base with Steven about an allocation of responsibilities between us.

get to first base – добиться первого успеха, сделать первые шаги в каком либо деле.

give something a miss – скиксовать; пропустить что- либо (бильярд).

gloves are off - спорить или состязаться, не обращая внимания на чувства или действия другой стороны.

go to bat for (someone) – помогать (кому-нибудь) Это выражение пришло из бейсбола, где уставшего игрока можно иногда заменить другим, оказав ему тем самым помощь. We went to bat for Mark when he was dismissed.

golf widow – женщина, которой муж не уделяет времени и внимания из-за увлеченности игрой в гольф.

H

hand (pass) the torch/baton to (someone) – передавать ответственность или обязанность другому. Эта фраза основывается на всем известной передаче эстафетной палочки от одного бегуна другому в эстафетных забегах или гонках. The board of directors handed the torch to new executive director.

hard to call – трудно решить или определить нечто. The game was hard to call and three referees went out to discuss the decision.

have one’s innings - иметь свой черёд, свою последовательность соответствующее русскому выражению «всему своё время».

have the inside track – иметь преимущество. Как известно, расстояние по внутренней дорожке стадиона короче, что дает преимущество бегущему по ней атлету.

hit (someone) below the belt – наносить удар ниже пояса.

home straight (stretch) – на финишной прямой. Так называется последняя дистанция, проходимая на скачках. I've been preparing for the exam since last Monday, but I'm finally on the home straight.

I

in deep water – в тяжелой ситуации. Now our industry is in deep water because of the crisis.

in pole position – в выигрышном положении. Bob’s communicational skills place him in pole position in the training.

in the homestretch – последний этап. The investigation into the downing of the plane is now in the homestretch.

in the same league as - на том же уровне (как кто-то или что-то). We are in the same league as the Robinson’s team.

it isn't cricket – это нечестно, так не годится. You can't flirt with his wife. It just isn't cricket.

J

jockey for position – пытаться занять позицию лучше, чем у других. The staff began to jockey for position when they found out about the company growth.

jump the gun – начать преждевременно, опережать события. Вероятно, это выражение связано с нередкой ситуацией, когда кто-то из атлетов стартует, не дождавшись сигнала (выстрела из стартового пистолета). The department proposal isn’t accepted, so don’t jump the gun.

K

keep one's eye on the ball – держать ситуацию под контролем, быть начеку. Bodyguards must always keep their eye on the ball.

keep the ball rolling - поддерживать состояние активности. He tried to keep the ball rolling during summer months.

know the ropes – хорошо разбираться в своем деле. Don’t worry, our cap knows the ropes!

know the score – располагать фактами о чем-то. The new director does not know the score about the company products.

L

lose (win) by a neck – отстать (опередить) на голову (конный спорт).

lower the boom – сурово обращаться с кем – то, критиковать, наказывать кого – то.

M

move the goalposts – изменять правила по ходу игры (нечестно)It's very difficult to work with this client because he moves the goalposts every day.

N

neck and neck - ноздря-в-ноздрю. The two parties were neck and neck in the last election.

O

off and running – хорошо стартовать. Our team was off and running in the race to get this player.

on a par with (someone) – наравне (с кем-то). "Пар" в гольфе – это установленное количество ударов по мячу для проведения мяча в лунку.

on the ball – расторопный, смышленый. You need to be on the ball and get things done quickly.

on the ropes – в безнадежной ситуации. Безусловно, мало приятного в том, чтобы «висеть» на канатах боксерского ринга под ударами соперника. John is on the ropes, his debts are rising.

out of the running – исключенный из рассмотрения. Our college team was out of the running without any clear explanation.

P

paddle one's own canoe – делать что-либо в одиночку, быть независимым. Tom decided to paddle his own canoe when we took part in the competition.

par for the course – естественное или ожидаемое в данной ситуацииBeing late is par for the course with this lecturer.

pitch (someone) a curve – приводить кого-нибудь в замешательство, делая что-то неожиданное. Fred pitched me a curve when he went to the theater without me.

pitch an idea – делать предложение о чем-нибудь. Nick pitched an interesting idea of a weekend journey.

play by the rules – следовать принятым правилам. He got angry and refused to play by the rules.

play fair – играть по правилам, избегать жульничества. Tom played fair and failed the exam.

play the field – играть по всему полю; разбрасываться (амер. футбол).

R

rally around – объединяться вместе, чтобы поддержать кого-то или что-то. All our school rallied around the petition.

roll with the punches – приспособиться к сложным обстоятельствам. Nick can roll with the punches and succeeds in our firm.

root for – подбадривать, поддерживать одобрительными восклицаниями и свистом. I like going to stadium and rooting for our football team.

rough and tumble – борьба не по правилам, потасовка, драка, схватка, кулачный бой.

S

safe bet – верная ставка, надежный вариант.  It was a safe bet to win the contract with our loyal client.

saved by the bell – избежавший нокаута благодаря гонгу (бокс).

second wind – второе дыхание, новый прилив энергии.

send smb. to grass – повалить кого – то, сбить с ног.

set the pace (make the running) – задавать темп, быть лидером.

short (или long) odds – большая или малая вероятность на что – либо.

sink or swim – проиграть или выиграть за счет собственных усилий. I prepare to sink or swim in this expedition to the Amazon.

skate on thin ice – подвергать себя риску, играть с огнем. Joseph is skating on thin ice with this crazy idea.

skating over something – избегать обсуждения определенной темыMy boss has an ability of skating over the difficult questions.

smooth sailing – всё идет хорошо и без проблем. After train’s delay it was smooth sailing all the trip.

sport of kings – скачки. Horse racing has been the sport of kings for many years.

step up to the plate – принять вызов, приготовиться выполнить задачу (выражение пришло из бейсбола)The government should step up to the plate and face its responsibility.

sticky wicket - затруднительная ситуация.

T

tackle a problem – энергично приступать к решению проблемыIs it only government's role to tackle this problem?

take it on the chin – не падать духом, стойко держаться. Serge took it on the chin, though it was huge trouble for him.

take one's eye off the ball – допустить ошибку, отвлекшись от дела. Don’t take your eye off the ball in a fishing!

take the wind out of one's sails – потерять решительность и энтузиазм. She told me something which took the wind out of my sails.

test the water – проверить, хорош ли план, до его осуществления. Our firm tests the water before we open the new brench.

that's the way the ball bounces – ничего не поделать, такова жизнь. My friend Leo likes to repeat: "That's the way the ball bounces".

the ball is in your court  - теперь всё зависит от тебя; теперь твоя очередь действовать.

the hat trick – тройной успех, три забитых мяча (футбол, крикет, скачки).

throw in the towel/sponge – признать свое поражение. Выражение из бокса: полотенце бросают на ринг как подтверждение поражения боксера.

to be nowhere - не попасть в число финалистов, безнадёжно отстать.

to be on the ball - быть расторопным, действовать оперативно.

to have no kick left – быть без сил, не в состоянии сопротивляться (бокс).

to kick off  - начинать, давать старт.

 to know the score - быть хорошо осведомлённым, информированным, хорошо разбираться в чём-либо.

to move the goalposts – изменить правила игры.

to score an own goal – ненамеренно ухудшить положение.

 to watch from the sidelines - быть сторонним наблюдателем оставаться в стороне.

toe the line – подчинятся требованиям, строго придерживаться правил.

toss (throw) one's hat into the ring – объявлять о принятии вызова, участии в состязании и т.д. Peter tossed his hat into the ring and will try to win the cup.

turn the tables on smb. –поменяться с противником ролями.

U

up to scratch – в отличном состоянии. The Dan's operational skills are up to scratch.

W

whole new ball game – совсем другое дело. The party became a whole new ball game when we tried to catch the parrot.

win (lose) by a neck – немного опередить (отстать от) кого – то.

Краткое описание документа:

Проект «Идиомы в спорте»является информационно –исследовательским. В данном проекте мой ученик представляет большое количество идиом по спортивной тематике. Спорт подарил нам много крылатых выражений, которые стали популярными во всем мире. Кроме того, изучение идиом обогащает и разнообразит словарный запас, помогает правильно понимать смысл оригинальных английских текстов. Анализируя их можно проследить историю страны, частично ознакомиться с ее обычаями и традициями. Поэтому изучение английской идиоматики очень актуальная проблема сегодня. Результатом проекта является Словарь «Идиомы в спорте».