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Let's start with the headline: "World is Tycoon Charoen's oyster". It is taken from the phrase "the world is your oyster", meaning that the person can do anything they like or go anywhere they want to. It is very appropriate for someone like Khun Charoen, don't you think?

He was born into a wealthy family; the world is his oyster.

What does someone look like if they are like a bull in a china shop. The word "china" (with lowercase 'c') refers to objects, such as tea cups and saucers, vases etc, that are made of very thin clay or porcelain, so they are extremely fragile. Imagine a big animal in a place that is full of very fragile items; will the bull realise that and be extra-careful? So when we say that someone is like a bull in a china shop, we mean that they are extremely clumsy or are very careless in the way that they move or behave.

Nobody in their right mind would behave like a bull in a china shop if they want to be eligible for a promotion.

Next is the dodo; if you have no idea what a dodo is and how it looks, don't worry - this gigantic, flightless bird has long been extinct. So when someone says that something is as dead as a dodo, they are stressing that it no longer exists.

We can also use "a dodo" to describe someone foolish or silly.

Nobody wears a top hat anymore these days. That fashion is as dead as a dodo.

For goodness sake, don't wear those banana-yellow trousers to the film premiere. Do you want to look like a dodo?

Next is the phrasal verb "to monkey about/around". The phrase uses "monkey" as a verb to describe the silly and playful behaviour of a person.

The pupils have been monkeying around in class all day; what is their teacher doing?

Stop monkeying around and get your work done.

It also means that somebody is interfering with what you are doing causing you annoyance.

I cannot fix your toy gun if you keep monkeying around with my toolbox.

And today's last expression is "to smell a rat". This phrase is used to show that the speaker is suspicious that there is something wrong.

The taxi driver tried to persuade Jane to buy some discounted jewellery at his uncle's shop but she could smell a rat.

 

Complete the following sentences using the expressions explained:

1. I have warned her of Mr Parker's short temper and she still behaves like a … in his presence.

2. Every time I walk into my son's room he quickly closes the website he is logged on to; I … .

3. Who is still worried about communism in this country? It is … .

4. I only ask you to concentrate on your studies, my boy; once you have graduated, … .

5. I told Fred to stop … . His girlfriend is not going to wait forever for him to propose to her.

Answers: 1. bull in a china shop, 2. smell a rat, 3. as dead as a dodo, 4. the world is your oyster, 5. monkeying around

By Parnsap Yomanage