hearts and flowers
Meaning: Excessive sentimentality.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The film is all hearts and flowers, with no real story.”
Category: Nature
Origin: From "Hearts and Flowers," a sentimental tune of 1899 often played to accompany sad scenes in silent films, which made it a byword for tear-jerking sentiment.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: À l'eau de rose — literally: Rosewater
- French: Cucul la praline — literally: Silly-bum the praline
More idioms — Nature
- a slippery slope — A small step that leads to worse and worse consequences.
- separate the wheat from the chaff — To distinguish what is valuable from what is worthless.
- promise the moon — To promise something impossible to deliver.
- Indian summer — A period of warm weather in autumn; also a late, happy period in life.
- drag someone's name through the mud — To damage someone's reputation publicly.
- as old as the hills — Extremely old.
More English idioms
- play hooky — To skip school or work without permission.
- sing someone's praises — To praise someone enthusiastically.
- grasp all, lose all — If you try to get too much, you may end up with nothing.
- the power behind the throne — Someone with no official title who secretly controls a leader.
- born in a trunk — Raised in a family of traveling performers and in the business from childhood.
- the road to hell is paved with good intentions — Good intentions are worthless, or even harmful, if they lead to bad actions.
From our proverbs
- Set the saddle on the right horse. — Choose the person best suited for the task rather than wasting effort on unsuitable candi…
- Sadness and gladness succeed each other. — Life's emotional states naturally alternate, so neither despair nor joy remains permanent.
- Make not your sail too large for your ship. — Ambition must match your actual resources, or you'll capsize under the weight of your own…