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An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below).
Willy-nilly (idiom) An 18th century artwork by William Hogarth featuring a disorderly setting. Willy-nilly is an English-language idiom and a slang which describes an activity, an action or event that is done in a disorganized, unplanned, or vacillating manner. [1][2][3] The term is derived from Shakespearian expression " will ye, nill ye ...
Events that rarely or might never happen. "Once in a blue moon " refers to a rare event. [8] "Don't hold your breath" implies that if you hold your breath while waiting for a particular thing to happen, you will die first. [9] Having to wait for something “until the cows come home” [10]
Sea change or sea-change is an English idiomatic expression that denotes a substantial change in perspective, especially one that affects a group or society at large, on a particular issue. It is similar in usage and meaning to a paradigm shift, and may be viewed as a change to a society or community's zeitgeist, with regard to a specific issue ...
This is a list of idioms that were recognizable to literate people in the late-19th century, and have become unfamiliar since. As the article list of idioms in the English language notes, a list of idioms can be useful, since the meaning of an idiom cannot be deduced by knowing the meaning of its constituent words. See that article for a fuller ...
Idiom. An idiom is a phrase or expression that largely or exclusively carries a figurative or non-literal meaning, rather than making any literal sense. Categorized as formulaic language, an idiomatic expression's meaning is different from the literal meanings of each word inside it. [1]
The metaphorical elephant in the room represents an obvious problem or difficult situation that people do not want to talk about. [1] The expression " the elephant in the room " (or " the elephant in the living room ") [2][3] is a metaphorical idiom in English for an important or enormous topic, question, or controversial issue that is obvious ...
a. a city named Buffalo. This is used as a noun adjunct in the sentence; n. the noun buffalo, an animal, in the plural (equivalent to "buffaloes" or "buffalos"), in order to avoid articles. v. the verb "buffalo" meaning to outwit, confuse, deceive, intimidate, or baffle. The sentence is syntactically ambiguous; one possible parse (marking each ...