What are some interesting English idioms and their meanings?
American: #1 Denial ain't just a river in Egypt - Mark TwainThe Nile is a river in Egypt, it exists, just like "denial". It is used to highlight the obvious point that someone refuses to see the obvious to protect themselves. #2 Gild the lilyTo apply a thin cover of gold on lily. To over embellish. #3 Paddle your own canoeBe independent and write your own fate. #4 As happy as a clamBe happy and satisfied. #5 All hat and no cattleA fake. All show but no substance. 6# Going to hell in a handbasketheaded for disaster with no chance of escape. 7# Up sheet creek without a paddleIn a tough or awkward situation with little support from others.Australian: 1# Full as a centipede's sock drawer very full, generally used after having a heavy meal. 2# Happy as a bastard on Father's DayJust the opposite of happy. 3# I'm as dry as a pommies bath matVery thirsty. Pommie is a derogatory term for a British person.#4 Face like a dropped pieUgly.# 5 Two-pot screamersomeone who can't hold their drink. Pot is equal to half a pint.
How would an MMA fighter fare against a Spartan soldier in hand to hand combat?
In an unarmed 1 on 1 sporting match the Spartan is likely to lose as that's not their focus, Spartan soldiers are mainly trained in formation fighting. Roman commanders who defeated them remarked that once you break a Spartan formation up they'll fall to legionnaires that practiced more one on one combat.For a mixed martial artist, 1 on 1 unarmed combat is all they train for.It also hurts the Spartan that the wrestling rules of his time penalize being on one's back. Modern mixed martial arts though is influenced by an Eastern tradition where being on your back isn't penalized and many submissions are done from the back.If Nate Diaz did this in Sparta they'd declare him the loser before he gets in his triangle choke"Fighting since childhood" isn't unheard of in modern times eitherSo "Spartans fight as soon as they can walk!" is sometimes brought up, but y'know so do Muay Thai boxers. If anything this is a drawback as injuries sustained as a child and teen can shorten one's career as an adult, many Thai fighters retire before they even reach their 30's.There are exceptions though, Saenchai's been fighting since he was 8 years old and still dominant at age 35There's also many non-skill factors to consider.Modern nutrition and medicine offers a huge, huge, huge advantage to the MMA fighter in being able to recover faster from injuries. A modern fighter who gets deep gashes on his eyebrows and has a broken nose has modern surgery to repair it, an ancient Greek has to deal with possibly permanent breathing problems and easy to re-open scar tissue. And if we're going to bring in Spartan "war experience" then consider the chances of being stabbed and clubbed over the head leading to permanent injuries that would affect his combat performance.You also have more shady practices like human growth hormone, blood transfusions, and of course steroids making the modern fighter more superhuman than anyone from 2,000 years ago could possibly be.Ancient Greeks did also attempt at 'performance enhancing drugs' with eating testicles and drinking semen in the hopes of raising one's masculine essence before a bout, but that's more folk magic than science.All in all the modern fighter's training regime, nutrition plan, and globally refined techniques gives him a decisive edge against a Spartan.This is just a general overview, when you're 1 on 1 in the ring it's down to the individuals in there to win or lose.