Is your English as fit as a fiddle?

And these classic catchphrases can also help you overcome common confusions.

Here’s how:

• It’s no fun feeling under the weather.

In this idiom under emphasises that feeling unwell is negative, like under  pressure and under fire.

It doesn’t mean the weather you’re experiencing – those expressions use in.

• It’s even worse being at death’s door.

But this saying does highlight that at is the right preposition when talking about a location.

How to recover?

• Popular advice says laughter is the best medicine.

And shows that the is needed to talk about the best, the tallest, the nicest, the most expensive …

• Also, an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

This reminds you of the pattern of how to talk about regular activities: we do something x times a week and x times a year.

Finally, we all want to be as fit as a fiddle.

Here the prompt is to use as twice when talking about being as healthy as possible.

Memorise some idioms to not only make you sound more natural, but also to help you beat those pesky points that like to trip you up.

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© Christina Wielgolawski