IELTS Vocabulary: if you use an idiom...

Look at these two phrases from yesterday's lesson. Are they correct?

• save something for the rainy day
• save something for rainy days

The answer is no. Both phrases contain a mistake.
The correct form is this: save (something) for a rainy day

If you use an idiom, you need to get it exactly right. Even a small mistake in an idiomatic expression makes it sound strange and completely wrong.

Comments

[sara]

thanks a lot simon.

[Kata]

It seems "something for the rainy day" may be an American aberration which cropped up in a few American publications in the first half of the twentieth century.

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=save+something+for+rainy+days%2Csomething+for+the+rainy+day%3Aeng_us_2012%2C+something+for+the+rainy+day%3Aeng_gb_2012%2C+&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Csomething%20for%20the%20rainy%20day%3Aeng_us_2012%3B%2Cc0

https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=Ui1CAQAAIAAJ&q=%22save+something+for+the+rainy+day%22&dq=%22save+something+for+the+rainy+day%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwitirGAj-zbAhVS_GEKHV-CDOAQ6AEITTAI

https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=v7cqAAAAMAAJ&q=%22save+something+for+the+rainy+day%22&dq=%22save+something+for+the+rainy+day%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwitirGAj-zbAhVS_GEKHV-CDOAQ6AEISTAH

https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=yHgXAQAAMAAJ&q=%22something+for+the+rainy+day%22&dq=%22something+for+the+rainy+day%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjc4oq5juzbAhVDzmEKHeA7D0AQ6AEILzAC

[Ali M]

Hi Simon and everyone here,

I'd like to add something interesting here,.. You know there's a similarity among all different cultures around the world,, as in our local tradition(in Libya), we say:
"Save your white penny for a black day"..
This saying induces us to set some money aside for bad circumstances likely to happen!!

Thank you for this lesson!!
Ali M.

[Ameet]

Sir, thanks for correction.

[Kata]

The most common versions of this idiom are:

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=*+away+for+a+rainy&year_start=1870&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t2%3B%2C%2A%20away%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bput%20away%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bsomething%20away%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bmoney%20away%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bit%20away%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Blaid%20away%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bhim%20away%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Btucked%20away%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bbit%20away%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bstored%20away%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Blittle%20away%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=*+saving+for+a+rainy%2C+*+save+for+a+rainy&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t2%3B%2C%2A%20saving%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bof%20saving%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bbeen%20saving%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Band%20saving%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Babout%20saving%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bin%20saving%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bare%20saving%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bwas%20saving%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bnot%20saving%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B.t2%3B%2C%2A%20save%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bto%20save%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bnot%20save%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Band%20save%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bshould%20save%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bor%20save%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=*+aside+for+a+rainy&year_start=1870&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t2%3B%2C%2A%20aside%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bsomething%20aside%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bput%20aside%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bset%20aside%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Blaid%20aside%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bmoney%20aside%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bit%20aside%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Banything%20aside%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Blittle%20aside%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bputting%20aside%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0%3B%3Bsome%20aside%20for%20a%20rainy%3B%2Cc0

[Kata]

Ali M

Although "for a black day" is also the idiom in some Slavonic languages, other European languages are more mundane and just talk about "against hard times". Rainy days seem to be bad news in England but would be good news in some dry or desert countries.

[Lewis]

Where There's a will There's a way, should I need to use Capital "T".

[Kata]

@ Lewis

Not necessarily:

https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=2810DQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22where+there%27s+a+will+there%27s+a+way%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiNld7uk_DbAhWLdd4KHfACCGc4KBC7BQhUMAg#v=onepage&q=%22where%20there's%20a%20&f=false

https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=XxC9DgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22where+there%27s+a+will+there%27s+a+way%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiFnIrtkvDbAhWNQd4KHf5WDGw4HhC7BQhIMAU#v=onepage&q=%22where%20there's%20a%20will&f=false