Idioms with impact

By Herman M. Lagon

Language may shape thought, but the way we joke, hint, or sidestep often says more. In our classrooms, where teachers balance modules and quiet pushback, idioms are not just flair — they are lifelines. Whether softening a correction or nudging a colleague to speak up, these phrases are less textbook and more toolkit, passed from chat to chismis, from chalkboard to complaint desk.

Take the teacher who applied for financial support and says she “came up empty” after dealing with school bureaucracy. It is more than a phrase — it is frustration without the fight. Or the student who gets through a week of exams, “firing on all cylinders,” because resting is not an option when your tuition is on the line. Idioms like these are the shortcuts we use when reality is too long to explain. According to linguist Geoffrey Nunberg (2014), idioms are cultural mirrors: How we say things reflects how we survive them.

And survival, to many of us, often means standing for something when it is easier to stand aside. A student who speaks up about harassment might be told she’s “breaking ranks.” A teacher fighting for fair pay gets labeled as “kicking up a stink.” But these are not disruptions — they are acts of courage, speaking truth even when the language tries to downplay it. As Jose W. Diokno once said, justice begins where silence ends.

We also see idioms used to deflect guilt. Politicians who commit violations but escape consequence often urge the public to “let bygones be bygones.” Forgetting does not always heal. As Amnesty International and Karapatan remind us, peace needs accountability. Remembering is not bitterness — it is a way to protect others from harm.

Still, not all idioms are manipulative. Some guide us back to reflection. A teacher who admits she was wrong about a student may say she had to “eat her words,” but in doing so, models humility. In cultures like ours, where pride often gets in the way of growth, that is no small thing. The Center for Ignatian Spirituality notes that growth begins with awareness — an openness to be proven wrong, to learn again, to let new truths in. It is not loud. It is not flashy. But it is radical in its own way.

There is also humor in these expressions. Imagine a principal who, despite the chaos of school opening, manages to “turn a profit” at the PTA food fair. Or a Grade 9 boy, hopelessly awkward, who tries to “take a gander” at his crush’s essay, only to realize he is “not in the same league.” Language like this cushions embarrassment. It allows us to fumble with dignity. Studies from the Philippine Normal University’s Research Center for Teacher Quality (2018) suggest that humor in classrooms builds rapport, reduces anxiety, and helps humanize teachers, especially in high-pressure environments.

But while idioms bring laughter, they also expose frustrations. The DepEd staff “all at sea” with shifting rules, the janitor “playing second string” to permanent staff, the burned-out teacher “on the mend” — their words show how work wears on the spirit. The IBON Foundation notes how neglect runs deep in teacher stories. Idioms become their quiet protest, naming what they cannot easily change.

Sometimes, we use idioms to critique, even if it sounds like banter. Calling a flip-flopping official a “dark horse” or saying a policy “went up in smoke” might be dismissed as palusot or palabiro, but it is also a way of pulling back the curtain. As novelist George Orwell reminded us, political language often aims to obscure. Idioms, when repurposed by those outside power, can do the opposite — they spotlight the mess.

Social media has made this more visible. When a government promise falls short, netizens quip, “Well, that blew their cover.” When a typhoon hits and the aid is late, someone posts, “There goes our break.” These are not just complaints. They are coping, commentary, and community rolled into one. As sociolinguist Crispin Thurlow (2018) observed, online idioms are participatory — they invite people to echo, react, and remember.

But here lies a challenge: Idioms can also desensitize. Telling someone who lost a job that they got “rained on,” or accusing a survivor of “crying wolf,” shrinks real pain. In a country where speaking out can be dangerous, we need less cleverness and more compassion.

So what do we do with all these idioms? We use them wisely. We reclaim them when they are used to silence, and we reframe them when they are used to distort. We can tell people that speaking up is not “making a meal of things,” but pulling their weight. That asking questions is not being “a bear with a sore head,” but simply refusing to go through life “in a rut.”

Language is not just what we say. It is what we allow. In a democracy constantly tested, idioms offer shorthand for struggle — but also for hope. Let us not waste them. Let us give them the power to name what needs healing, to defend what is human, and to turn simple phrases into stories that stay. Because in a time when truth feels negotiable, a well-placed idiom might just be our most honest line.

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Doc H fondly describes himself as a “student of and for life” who, like many others, aspires to a life-giving and why-driven world grounded in social justice and the pursuit of happiness. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the institutions he is employed by or connected with.