Religious idioms, explained Idioms are expressions where the words don't have a literal meaning. Most of us are familiar with these idiomatic expressions and indeed their figurative meanings.

Li suggested you ask "is this a real idiom?" "That may help the model to recognize the phrase instead of just guessing," she said. First published on April 25, 2025 at 11:34 a.m. PT.

Presented with the difficult task of explaining nigh-unexplainable phrases, the model does its best, generating interpretations that can border on the profound at times.

AI Overview helpfully explained that this expression means that you can’t deceive someone a second time after they’ve already been tricked once — which seems like a reasonable explanation ...

The latest evidence: You can trick Google's AI Overview (the automated answers at the top of your search queries) into explaining fictional, nonsensical idioms as if they were real.

Google's AI Overviews Explain Made-Up Idioms With Confident Nonsense The latest meme around generative AI's hallucinations proves you can't lick a badger twice. Jon Reed Senior Editor.