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ORIGIN:
It cost him an arm and a leg to go to Hawaii, but Mr. Wong really needed the vacation. This popular mid 20th century American expression gets a lot of use as things get more expensive. Naturally, one’s arms and legs are priceless, so what this saying implies is that if something is really expensive, then it’s like paying for it with one of your limbs.
couch potato / a sofa spud диванная картошка (любитель смотреть телевизор, жуя и лежа на диване) M E A N I N G : someone who is very inactive and spends most of their time watching television Jane was in danger of turning into a couch potato when she was resting at home after her operation. ORIGIN: This expression comes from America. It describes a person who doesn’t do much in their free time except watch television. Why couch? Because that’s where a lot of people sit when they’re watching TV. Why potato? Because to the person who coined this description, a person who lies around all day and night in front of the television set reminded him of a potato – a dull, lumpy vegetable with eyes. creature comforts житейские / маленькие радости M E A N I N G : material things like good food and accommodation which make life pleasant I hate camping. I can’t do without my creature comforts. ORIGIN: It has been a commonplace since the seventeenth century. In Nicholas Nickleby, Charles Dickens played on the meaning of creature, that is alcoholic spirits, to pun that Mr. Squeers, the sadistic schoolmaster, had been seeking forgetfulness in creature comforts, which turned out to be brandy and water.
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