Like a Fish Out of Water

Idioms are fun but can be hard to remember. As an English teacher, I like to help students to remember differet idioms by giving them visual cues. The picture to the left is Ponyo, the main character from the movie of the same name. She is a fish who dreams of living with humans (much like The Little Mermaid). Ponyo has magic powers and she transforms herself into a little girl so that she can meet a young boy named Sosuke. The movie cutely shows Ponyo trying to understand the human things she encounters, such as a ham sandwich and electric lightbulbs. She is seeing these things for the first time, and she is curious but confused by them. She is like a fish out of water, and she is also literally a fish out of water. The basis for many of the scenes in this movie is the exact meaning of the idiom “like a fish out of water” (場違いな、勝手が違って). However, unlike a true fish out of water who would die eventually, Ponyo is smart and brave and so she can survive in the human world. She has big dreams and no matter how risky it may be,she is wlling to take the risks. She is willing to go far from home, to leave the sea, to go somewhere dangerous and unfamiliar. She is willing to go out on a limb for her dreams, event hough the limb might break. Sosuke as well is willing to go out on a limb, to risk everything, in order to save Ponyo. To take such risks knowingly is “to go out on a limb” (危険を冒す). Clear? Easy to remember? I hope so.
Written by Edward, Smith’s School of English Otsu