Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[hanygeorge38]

Dear Teachers

I need your help in clarifying the folllowing :

t was as if all hell broke loose that day.

(what is meant by break loose ?)

I am a chicken when it comes to storms
(what is meant by chicken here ?)


little guys who will get court marsheled
(what is meant by court marshaled ? )


The BIG SHOTS will never be punished
(what does the big shots mean ?)

Thanks
_________________
hany

[obelix]

To break loose means, literally, to escape confinement. So that if you are keeping, say, a horse in a stable and it breaks loose it escapes.
Similarly All hell breaks loose means suddenly, there is a very severe change for the worse in the status quo. For example, if at sea, the weather suddenly becomes extremely violent and things start to go seriously wrong aboard a ship caught in that weather, it is said that All hell breaks (or broke) loose.
It could also apply to a battlefield where everything is quiet and suddenly a heavy attack starts up, or even in an office when the boss suddenly becomes extremely angry and starts firing people.

A person is said to be a chicken or to be chicken when he is afraid of something.

A court martial is a military court which dispenses justice to members of the military services. It is reserved for egregious breaches of military discipline.
A person brought before such a court is said to be court-martialled.

A big shot is a famous person or an important person or a person of high rank. You can also say a big noise or a bigwig or even a big cheese