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Idiom: To die for
English is a language which seems to have been designed to frustrate, irritate and confuse its learners.
Let’s take the idiom to die for as an example.
When you say something is to die for, you mean it is fantastic, wonderful or highly desirable.
We generally look at death as an unwelcome thing.
After all, death is the end of life on this earth.
After death, there are no more fancy cars, cold beers or beautiful summer sunsets.
It’s supposed to be the end of everything.
Why would someone who speaks English describe a piece of chocolate cake as being to die for?
I mean, think about it.
Would you be willing to give up your life for a piece of chocolate cake?
In addition to describing a piece of cake as delicious, mouthwatering or the best thing since sliced bread, if you speak English, you can say it’s to die for.
I suppose you could also say it’s the best thing since sliced bread, but it may be a little confusing for some people.
What’s up with that?
Is it any wonder English language students worldwide are pulling their hair out in frustration?
There used to be a restaurant in Vancouver, Canada, named Death by Chocolate.
Being a confirmed chocoholic, I went there more than a few times.
Funnily enough, their desserts were to die for. Ha, ha, ha!
They were probably too rich tasting for the Japanese, who prefer light-tasting sweets.
The restaurant’s name was playing on the idea that good food, in this case, chocolate dessert, is to die for.
Not surprisingly, the restaurant has since gone out of business.
I could not find out if the chocolate killed them or if their demise was brought about by something else, such as financial difficulties.
Great food is described as to die for, but how many people would eat at a restaurant with death in its name?
Then again, there is the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas.
If their food isn’t to die from – oh, I mean for, then I don’t know what is.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 77.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.