Idiom in Context: Reading *Stati na žulj*
In a newspaper column, a journalist writes: Gradonačelnik je obećao nove škole, ali njegova odluka da zatvori biblioteku stala je na žulj mnogim roditeljima. A student translates stala je na žulj literally as stepped on a corn and concludes the sentence is about a foot injury. The teacher asks the class to work out the meaning from context and to explain why a literal translation fails. The class also notices that the same column uses obećao (promised) earlier, and that the library closure is described as nepopularna.
1. Using only the context in the sentence, explain what *stala je na žulj* means and how the surrounding words support that meaning.
Read the worked answer
The idiom means to touch a sensitive point, to upset or provoke people. Contextual support:
- Contrast with obećao: the mayor promised new schools, so parents expected support for education. Closing a library contradicts that expectation, which explains why parents are upset.
- mnogim roditeljima: the phrase names who is affected, so the idiom describes an emotional reaction, not a physical event.
- nepopularna (used nearby): this explicitly labels the decision as disliked, confirming the negative effect.
- The subject is a decision, not a person's foot: an abstract decision cannot literally step on anyone.
A literal reading (stepped on a corn) fails because it requires a body and a physical action, neither of which is present. The exam skill is inferring figurative meaning from collocation and context, not from dictionary recall alone.
2. A classmate says idioms should just be memorised as fixed phrases. Evaluate this view using the example.
Read the worked answer
Memorisation is necessary but not sufficient. It helps you recognise stati na žulj as an idiom, but it does not tell you:
- When it fits: here it works because the topic is public discontent. The same idiom would be odd in a neutral report about a road closure that no one opposed.
- Who it targets: the idiom implies sensitivity and reaction; a writer uses it to signal that a group feels wounded. Recognising that tells you the columnist is sympathetic to the parents.
- How it interacts with the rest of the text: the idiom gains force from the contrast with obećao. A memorised gloss (to upset) would miss the irony that the mayor's promise and his decision collide.
So the better view is that idioms are fixed in form but flexible in function. The exam tests whether you can judge function in context, which pure memorisation cannot deliver. A student who only memorises may translate correctly and still misread the writer's stance.