Idioms and slang expressions can sometimes make you wonder what they actually mean. In fact, that's the best-case scenario. The worst-case scenario is when you think it's not an idiom and take it at its face value. This is exactly what can happen with the baby bear idiom. Even though its origin is obvious - Goldilocks and the Three Bears, of course! - its meaning may not be as clear. Here are some example that I've found on the Internet: Example Number 1 - BABY BEAR CAR SEATS! Example Number 2 - BABY BEAR SHOES! Example Number 3 - BABY BEAR CONDITION OF THE STOMACH! From all these examples it's pretty obvious that baby bear is used as an adjective and means 'just right' - like the porridge, the chair and the bed belonging to the baby bear in the fairy tale. So if somebody asks you "Is your meat ever baby bear?" you should not be shocked and answer "I don't eat baby bears!" It is just an innocent question about your cooking abilities: do you ever manage to cook meat so that it's not too dry and not completely raw at the same time, not too spicy and not too bland, in other words - JUST RIGHT? Here are some idioms used in the post! (Apart from the baby bear)
best-case scenario - being the best result that could be expected under the circumstances (в лучшем случае) worst-case scenario - being the worst result that could be expected under the circumstances (в худшем случае) to take smh at (its) face value - to believe that the way things appear is the way they really are (понимать буквально, принимать за чистую монету)
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AuthorMy name is Elena Rafaelevna Watson, I have been teaching English as a foreign language for over 25 years now. I have also been translating and interpreting (English/Russian) for over 20 years. Archives
September 2018
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