Download Part 9 English Idioms The English language abounds in idioms like

Part 9
English Idioms The English language abounds in idioms like any other highly developed tongues. They consist of set phrases and short sentences, which are peculiar to the language in question and loaded with the native cultures and ideas. Therefore, idioms are colourful, forcible and thought?provoking. Strictly speaking, idioms are expressions that are not readily understandable from their literal meanings of individual elements, for example, fly off the handle (become excessively angry) and put up with (tolerate). In a broad sense, idioms may include colloquialisms, catchphrases, slang expressions, proverbs, etc. They form an important part of the English vocabulary. This chapter will deal with idioms in terms of their characteristics, classification and uses. 9.1 Characteristics of Idioms 9.1.1 Semantic Unity Being phrases or sentences, idioms each consist of more than one word, but each is a semantic unity. Though the various words which make up the idiom have their respective literal meanings, in the idiom they have lost their individual identity, i.e. their meanings are not often recognizable in the meaning of the whole idiom. Likewise, the part of speech of each element is no longer important. Quite often the idiom functions as one word. For instance, till the cows come home, which comprises a conjunction till, an article the, a noun cow, a verb come and an adverb home, means `forever' and functions as an adverb, thus replaceable by the word `forever'. The same can be said of keep in mind (remember), take off (imitate), to no avail (useless), like a breeze (easily) and so on. The semantic unity of idioms is also reflected in the illogical relationship between the literal meaning of each word and the meaning of the idiom. Many idioms are semantically inexplicable. For example, How do you do is a common form of greeting used by people when they first meet. Literally it means `In what way do you do things', which is far from its idiomatic usage. Similarly, wear one's heart upon one's sleeve which means `show one's feelings plainly' is literally impossible. Rain cats and dogs which is used in the sense of `rain heavily' literally makes nonsense. 9.1.2 Structural Stability Unlike free phrases, the structure of an idiom is to a large extent unchangeable. First, the constituents of idioms cannot be replaced. Take in a brown study for example. Used as a free phrase, we can say in a brown (red, green, white, etc.) study or in a brown study (room, den, hall, studio, cell, etc.). However, as an idiom to mean `deep in thought', the structure is fixed. In the same way, lip service (support only in words, not in fact) is not to be changed into * mouth service; kick the bucket (die) into * kick the pail or *strike the bucket; bury the hatchet (come to friendly or peaceful terms) into * bury the ax. Secondly, the word order cannot be inverted or changed. For example, by twos and threes and tit for tat are not to be turned into by threes and twos and tat for tit. Similarly, the lion's share is not to be
replaced by the share of the lion though it is a common practice in free phrases. Thirdly, the constituents of an idiom cannot be deleted or added to, not even an article. For instance, out of the question means 'impossible'. If the article the is deleted, the idiomaticity will be lost and it will signify `no question' instead. In question (being considered) on the other hand does not allow the addition of the as * in the question, because the latter is no longer an idiom. Finally, many idioms are grammatically unanalysable. For example, diamond cut diamond (two parties are equally matched) is grammatically incorrect, for normally the verb cut should take the third person singulars as the subject diamond is singular. Meanwhile there exists a structurally similar idiom Like cures like, in which ­s cannot be deleted. (as) sure as eggs is eggs (quite certainly) may serve as another example. The verb is in the idiom should be are to agree with grammar. However, we use it as it is. It is grammatically wrong, but idiomatic and widely accepted. It should be pointed out that the idiomaticity of idioms is gradable and may best be thought in terms of a scale, with the 'true' idioms established at the upper end and regular combinations at the bottom. In between are the 'semi­idioms'. By true idioms we mean that the meaning of the idiom cannot be deduced from those of the individual constituents such as step up used in 'His promotion stepped up (improve or enhance) their social status.' and in the raw used in 'The boys are playing in the river in the raw (naked).' By regular combinations we speak of the regular collocations such as make friends with, break silence and smooth tongue, the meanings of which are understood from the literal meanings of the constituents. In between we have idioms like turn over a new leaf (begin a new life), as cool as a cucumber and draw the curtain (end or conceal), whose meanings are in a way related to the meanings of the constituents but are not themselves explicit. The fixity of idioms depends on the idiomaticity. The more idiomatic the idioms, the more fixed the structure. Many of the idioms of the lower scale do allow some changes. For example, break silence can be changed into keep silence to express the opposite meaning. Put on the coat can be replaced by put it on in the actual context. These variations of idioms will be discussed in the sections to follow. 9.2 Classification of Idioms Classification can be approached from different angles. Studies on English idioms to this day and various dictionaries of idioms have provided a variety of criteria for classifying idioms. In this book, we prefer the criterion of 'grammatical functions'. This is because such classification will be more helpful in the actual use of idioms. The difficulty in using idioms appropriately lies first in the difficulty of grasping the elusive and figurative meaning and then in the difficulty of determining the syntactic functions of idioms. For instance, heart and soul is an idiom made up of two nouns connected by and. It looks like a noun phrase on appearance, but it is in fact used as an adverbial. A knowledge of the grammatical functions of idioms will undoubtedly be beneficial to learners. By this criterion, idioms may be classified as follows: 9.2.1 Idioms Nominal in Nature Idioms of this class have a noun as the key word in each and function as a noun in sentences, e.g.
white elephant [a + n] (something useless and unwanted but big and costly) brain trust [n + n] (a group of people with special knowledge who answer questions or give advice)
flesh and blood [n + conj + n] (relatives or family) an apple of discord [n + prep + n] (cause of disagreement or argument, etc) Jack of all trades [n + prep + det. + n] (a person who can do many different kinds of work but may not good at any of them) fly in the ointment [n + prep + n] (something that spoils the perfection of something). 9.2.2 Idioms Adjectival in Nature All the idioms listed below function as adjectives but the constituents are not necessarily adjectives, e.g. cut and dried [a + a] (already settled and unlikely to be changed) as poor as a church mouse [as + a + as + n] (having, or earning, barely enough money for one's needs) wide of the mark [a + prep + n] (not at all suitable, correct, etc.) beyond the pale [prep + n] (beyond the limit of proper behaviour) up in the air [adv + prep + n] (uncertain) 9.2.3 Idioms Verbal in Nature This is the largest group of all. The structures of such idioms are quite complex and thus can be subdivided into phrasal verbs and other verb phrases. 1. Phrasal verbs are idioms which are composed of a verb plus a prep and/or a particle, e.g. look into [vi + prep] (investigate) go on [vi + adv] (continue) put off [vt + prep/adv] (discourage... from; cause...to dislike, etc./ delay; make excuses in order to avoid a duty, etc.) turn on [vt + adv] (switch on; excite or interest strongly, and often sexually) get away with [vi + adv + prep] (do something wrong without being punished) put down to [vt + adv + prep] (state that something is caused or explained by) 2. Other verb phrases make it [v + pron] (arrive in time; succeed) follow one's nose [v + poss + n] (go straight ahead, go in the same direction) fall flat [v + a] (fail completely in its intended or expected effect) give sb the bag [v + pron + n] (fire or dismiss somebody) sing a different tune [v + a + n] (change one's opinion or attitude) call it a day [v + pron + n] (decide or agree to stop either temporarily or for good) chop and change [v + conj + v] (fluctuate or vary constantly; keep changing one's opinion, etc.) swim against the stream [v + prep phrase] (do the opposite of what most people want to do; go
against the way things are happening) come back to earth [v + adv + prep phrase] (stop imagining or dreaming) make ends meet [v + n + v] (earn what it costs to live) keep the pot boiling [v + n + v?ing] (earn enough to maintain an adequate standard of living; keep a situation active, amusing, etc) let the dog see the rabbit [v + n + inf] (do not get in the way of another who wishes to see or do sth) bite the hand that feeds one [v + n + attr. clause] (repay kindness with wrong, turn against or hurt a helper or supporter) 9.2.4 Idioms Adverbial in Nature tooth and nail [n + n] (with great violence and determination) in nothing flat [prep + n + a] (in a very little time; soon) through thick and thin [prep + n + conj + n] (through all difficulties and troubles) This class contains numerous prepositional phrases, which in nature are either adjectival or adverbial and in many cases have both functions at the same time. For instance, in clover or in the clover (in rich comfort or having a pleasant or easy life) can be used both as predicative as in 'When we finish the hard part we'll be in the clover' and as adverbial as in 'They live in clover because their father is rich.' Therefore, this idiom may be placed in the second group and in the fourth group as well. 9.2.5 Sentence Idioms As the term suggests, all idioms of this category are complete sentences. They are mainly proverbs and sayings, including colloquialisms and catchphrases. As far as sentence types are concerned, they embrace declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamative sentences. In terms of complexity they can be further divided into simple, compound and complex sentences. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. [Declarative, simple] How are you? [Interrogative, simple] Never do things by halves. [Imperative, simple] That's the time of day! [Exclamative, simple] Upon my word! [Exclamative, simple] Art is long, life is short. [Compound] All is not gold that glitters. [Complex] Kill the goose that laid the golden egg. [Complex] It is should be pointed out that forms and functions of idioms are not necessarily identical. For example, the noun phrase pepper and salt can function as an adjective as in `His hair is pepper and salt.' Noun phrase idioms can also function as adverbial such as night and day, bag and baggage. Some idioms have a double status like high and low, which is both an adjective phrase and an adverb phrase. Naturally, it can go to adjective idioms and adverb idioms as well. Compare the two sentences:
[58a] Listen, children of the world, both high and low, rich and poor. I shall speak the truth. [58b] For many weeks I searched high and low to try to find some females to go with them, but without success. 9.3 Use of Idioms The study of idioms is not just to know which are idioms and which are not, but also to understand them correctly in actual context and use them properly in production. To achieve this, one needs to be aware of the rhetoric characteristics of idioms such as stylistic features, rhetoric features and their occasional variations. This section makes an attempt to discuss such aspects in some length. 9.3.1 Stylistic Features A large proportion of idioms were first created by working people such as seamen on the sea, hunters in the woods, farmers in the fields, workmen at mills, housewives and cooks in the kitchen and so on, using familiar terms that are associated with their own trades and occupations. For example, in deep water, tide over, take the helm were first used by seamen; kill two birds with one stone, if you run after two hares, you will catch neither used by hunters; a bull in a china shop, have all one's eggs in one basket used by farmers; new brooms sweep clean, wash one's dirty linen in public used by housewives; keep the pot boiling, boil down used by cooks; jump the bait, a fish out of water used by fishermen; hit below the belt, play fair used by sportsmen, etc. Such expressions were all colloquial and informal and once confined to a limited group of people engaged in the same trade or activity. But they proved terse, vivid, forcible and stimulating so that later they broke out of their bounds and gradually gained wide acceptance. As a result, their early stylistic features faded in part and many became part of the common core of the language and are now used in different situations. For instances, of the twenty­one idioms listed in DAI centering around the verb bring, only one is labelled `formal' (i.e. bring to pass), three labelled 'informal' (i.e. bring around, bring down the house, bring home the bacon), and two marked 'colloq & slang' (i.e. bring down and bring­down). This means that all the rest fifteen idioms are in common use. In ODCIE, there are all together 29 idioms centering around dead, only one is marked 'formal' and one 'informal', leaving 27 with no special stylistic differences. Despite the fact, idioms are generally felt to be informal and some are colloquialisms and slang, therefore inappropriate for formal style. Occasionally, we find idioms which are extremely formal and used only in frozen style. 1. Coloquialisms hang in (there) (not to give up) [59] Hang in there, old buddy; the worst is yet to come. big wheel (an influential or important person) [60] Uncle Ferdinand is a big wheel in Washington, maybe he can help you with your problem. make waves (create a disturbance, a sensation) [61] Joe Catwallender is the wrong man for the job; he is always trying to make waves. can of worms (a complex problem, or complicated situation)
[62] Let's not get into big city politics??that's a different can of worms. 2. Slang cancer stick (cigarette) [63] Throw away that cancer stick! Smoking is bad for you! hit the sack (AmE go to bed) [64] I'm sleepy; let's hit the sack. dish the dirt (gossip or spread rumours about others) [65] Stop dishing the dirt, Sally, it's really unbecoming! feel no pain (be drunk) [66] After a few drinks, the man felt no pain and began to act foolishly. in the soup (in serious trouble; in confusion) [67] When his wife overdrew their bank account without telling him, Mr Cook suddenly found himself really in the soup. 3. Literary expressions Come to pass (take place; happen) [68] Strange things come to pass in troubled times. be it that (even though) [69] And be it that indeed that I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself. in the wake of (right after; followng) [70] Famine followed in the wake of war. give the lie to (call somebody a liar) [71] The police gave the lie to the man who said that he had been at home during the robbery. of note (notable; well?known) [72] Sahgal is a novelist of note in India. cross swords (have an argument with; fight) [73] That was where I crossed swords with Wilfit in the discussion of financing the new project. The same idiom may show stylistic differences when it is assigned different meanings. Take screw up for example. When used in the sense of 'make sb nervous, tense', it is informal as in 'Going to the dentist never seems to bother my wife, but I get terribly screwed up at the mere thought.' In the sense of 'mishandle, mess up', it is a slang as in 'We should never have left the arrangements to Smithers. He screwed the whole thing up from start to finish.' However, this idiom does not show any particular stylistic colouring in the following context: 'With an impatient exclamation Peter screwed up the second draft of his letter to the bank and threw it into the wastepaper basket' (= make into a tight ball in the hands). 'Janice screwed her face up into an expression of the utmost seriousness' (= tighten the muscles of the face). In addition, slang expressions are often peculiar to social or regional varieties. Some may be used only in British setting, others may be appropriate only in American context, and still others may be suitable for certain groups of people. All this needs care on the part of the user in the course of production.
9.3.2 Rhetorical Features Apart from the stylistic features, idioms manifest apparent rhetorical colouring in such respects as of phonetic manipulation, lexical arrangement and figures of speech. 1.Phonetic manipulation (1) Alliteration chop and change (keep changing one's opinion) might and main (all one's power and strength) rough and ready (acceptable; simple and without comfort) part and parcel (most important and essential part) toss and turn (keep turning from side to side) bag and baggage (with all one's belongings) sum and substance (the gist of something) neither fish, flesh, nor fowl (difficult to classify) (2) Rhyme kith and kin (relative) wear and tear (damage from continuous use) toil and moil (work hard and long; strive laboriously) by hook and by crook (by all means good and foul) fair and square (just, honest; without deceit) A little pot is soon hot. A friend is need is a friend indeed. There 's many a slip between the cup and the lip. 2.Lexical manipulation (1) Reiteration (duplication of synonyms) Scream and shout, cut and carve, pick and choose (select with much care or in a fussy way), hustle and bustle (do things in a hurry, with some fuss), rough and tough, odds and ends (remnants or things of little value), bits and pieces (odds and ends), push and shove (make one's way through by pushing, jostling), ways and means (methods and/or resources), by leaps and bounds (at a rapid pace). (2) Repetition By and by, out and out, such and such, neck and neck, lots and lots, round and round, day by day, all in all, face to face, shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, word for word, from time to time, year in year out. (3) Juxtaposition (of antonyms) Here and there, up and down, hit or miss, rain or shine, weal and woe, first and last, high and low, back and forth, right and left, sooner or later, play fast and loose (take advantage by telling lies), move heaven and earth (do anything possible), from head to foot, from start to finish. 3.Figures of speech Idioms are terse and vivid because of the copious images created by them. Large numbers of
idioms are used in their metaphorical meaning. Since idioms are peculiar to the native culture and language, many images appear alien to foreign learners but may be expressive, impressive and effective. (1) Simile (As) mute as a fish, as dead as a doornail, as graceful as a swan, like a rat in a hole, eat like a horse, sleep like a log, Time flies like an arrow, spend money like water. (2) Metaphor In some idioms, animals are used to refer to people, e.g. black sheep (the member thought to be a disgrace in the family), a dark horse (a person who tends to keep their activities, feelings, or intentions secret, and who may have unexpected qualities or abilities), grey mare (the wife rules her husband), snake in the grass (hidden enemy); inanimate things to refer to people, e.g. new broom (a person who has newly come to office), flat tire (AmE a boring person), the salt of the earth (the few of the highest excellence); things to refer to something else, e.g. bed of dust (grave), crocodile tears (signs of insincere sorrow), a wet blanket (something that spoils the pleasure, etc), black bottle (poison); actions, state to refer to abstract ideas or other actions, state, etc. e.g. sit on the fence (take impartial attitude), cut the ground from under sb (destroy someone's success by taking his ideas, acting before him), fall from grace (deteriorate or commit crime), and so on. (3) Metonymy This refers to idioms in which the name of one thing is used for that of another associated with it, e.g. in the cradle (in one's childhood), live by one's pen (live by writing), from cradle to grave (from birth to death), make (up) a purse (raise money, etc. (4) Synecdoche Both metonymy and synecdoche involve substitution of names, yet they differ in that the former is a case of using the name of one thing for another closely associated with it and the latter is that of substituting part for the whole and vice versa, e.g. earn one's bread (make a living), fall into good hands (good people), two heads are better than one (two people) and so on. (5) Personification Failure is the mother of success. Actions speak louder than words. The pot calls the cattle black. Fire and water are good servants, but bad masters. (6) Euphemism The call of nature (the need to pass water or empty the bowels), sleep around (be free with one's sexual favours or behave promiscuously), powder one's nose (go to the rest room). Some idioms are always used in a humourous way like kick the bucket (die), give leg­bail (run away); some are ironic and sardonic in tones, e.g. big deal (exclamation suggesting something not very impressive or interesting), perfumed talk (indecent talk); some are derogatory, e.g. a big cheese (sb who is, or believes he is, a very important person). There are instances of hyperbole such as a world of
trouble (a lot of trouble) and a flood of tears (plenty of tears). 9.3.3 Variations of Idioms Characterized by semantic unity and structural stability, idioms do not allow changes as a rule. But structural stability is not absolute. When idioms are used in actual context, they do experience grammatical changes such as different forms of verbs, agreement of personal pronouns and number and so on. Occasionally, we may find changes in constituents of idioms: addition, deletion, replacement, position­shifting, dismembering, etc. 1. Replacement In some idioms, a constituent may be replaced by a word of the same part of speech, resulting in synonymous or antonymous idioms. (1) Verb, e.g. make [cut] a figure, make [pull off] a great coup, catch [get, seize, take] hold of, keep [break] one's word, take [lose] heart. (2) Noun, e.g. down in the bushes [mouth], a drop in the ocean [bucket], on the increase [decrease], in the know [dark], die in harness [one's boots] (3) Adjectives, e.g. in good [high, fine, full] feather, on a large [big, vast] scale, by all [no] means, take long [short] views. (4) Adverb or preposition, e.g. drop in [over, by], give a handle for [to], turn on [off], go with [against] the stream, by [in] the lump. (5) Article, pronoun, numeral, e.g. flea in one's [the] ear, lay a [one's] course, talk thirteen [nineteen] to the dozen, in a [some] sort, come off one's [the] high horse. 2. Addition or deletion In some instances, some constituents can be added or deleted, which does not affect the meaning of the idioms, e.g. behind [the] bars, [for] all night, for good [and all], as broad as [it is] long, thank one's [lucky] stars, from [the bottom] one's heart, etc. 3. Position­shifting The positions of certain constituents in some idioms can be shifted without any change in meaning, e.g. day and night = night and day, young and old = old and young, pin back sb's ears = pin sb's ears back, turn the radio up = turn up the radio, do sb a favour = do a favour for sb, play sb a trick = play a trick on sb, fortune's wheel = wheel of fortune, lie near sb's heart = lie near the heart of sb. 4. Shortening This occasionally occurs in proverbs and sayings, where only a part of them is used instead of the whole, e.g. the last straw = It is the last straw that breaks the camel's back, velvet paws = Velvet paws hide sharp claws, Jack of all trades = Jack of all trades and master of none. The following are a few examples in actual use: [74] "But for whom is any weather 'worse'? Sunbathers? Skiers? Tomatoes? Ducks? Obviously any weather is good for some people and purposes, so why label it? It's an ill wind." ­­­ The Observer It's an ill wind is the short form for It's an ill wind that blows no body good (few situations or
events are so unwelcome or disastrous that nobody at all gets any benefit or profit from them). [75] "I don't think the walls need re­painting; but needs must, I suppose, if I'm to get any peace."(ODCIE) Needs must is part of, Needs must when the devil drives, which means 'circumstances make it necessary or unavoidable.' [76] " 'I'm a bit of a rolling stone down the avenues of medicine,' he explained." ­­­ Doctor in Love A rolling stone comes from A rolling stone gathers no moss, meaning 'a person who moves a lot from place to place, from job to job does not accumulate property, real friends, or social ties.' 5. Dismembering It is what I mean by breaking up the idioms into pieces, an unusual case of use of idioms particularly in literature or popular press to achieve special effect. For example: [77] "The leopard! But he did change them, Dinny." "He did not, Auntie: he had no spots to change." ­­­ Galsworthy In this dialogue, the idiom The leopard never changes his spots is used humorously. However, the original idiom is broken up and hardly recognizable unless we put the pieces together. [78] "Conway would have preferred to talk in Chinese, but so far he had not let it be known that he spoke any Eastern tongue; he felt it might be a useful card up his sleeve." ­­­ J. Hitton 'Be a useful card up his sleeve' is a personal variant of have a card up one's sleeve. It is well used here to indicate that Conway is a person of wisdom, knowing how to take the advantage of the situation and manipulate people. [79] "Generally speaking, he is a misfit, a round peg in the squarest of holes." ­­­ Observer A round peg in the squarest of holes is based on the idiom of a square peg in a round hole, here deliberately transformed by the author to emphasis the point that the person in question is not in the least fit for the job. Instances like this are not too difficult to find, but are not examples to follow on the part of the learner. While aware of the variations, we as learners should always keep in mind the characteristics of idioms and learn idioms as they are and use them as they are used in an idiomatic way.