Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[BMO]

Is this like:

Two brothers with different ideas?

[bud]

Hi Hela,

I've never heard it, but there are a slew of similar expressions to describe someone who is not all there. They are sometimes used derisively to call a person crazy, but more often they are used affectionatly to convey that a friend's mentality is not exactly normal. Maybe they come up with wild ideas, or they seem to lack common sense, for example. One of my sisters is extremely intelligent, she always excels, but our family knows that her elevator doesn't go all the way to the top. Recently, the street leading to another sister's house was closed due to a downed power line. The sister in question called the second sister to ask for another way to get to her house for a family get-together. The amusing thing is that they live in the same town, about 10 blocks away from each other.

The key phrase in the expression is "short of." The key idea is that there is not a full complement of a common set. Usually, there are 5 or 6 peas in a pod. You could say that my sister is a couple of eggs short of a dozen.

This is not the same as like two peas in a pod. This is an expression to describe two people who are very much alike.

[BMO]

Got it, got it, and thanks.

[bud]

My pleasure. I'm sorry for calling you Hela.