Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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).
A fossil word is a word that is broadly obsolete but remains in current use due to its presence within an idiom or phrase. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] An example for a word sense is 'ado' in 'much ado'. An example for a phrase is ' in point ' (relevant), which is retained in the larger phrases ' case in point ' (also 'case on point' in the legal context) and ...
These are not merely catchy sayings. Even though some sources may identify a phrase as a catchphrase, this list is for those that meet the definition given in the lead section of the catchphrase article and are notable for their widespread use within the culture. This list is distinct from the list of political catchphrases.
“Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than any magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration.” — Charles Dickens, English author
One might also say that an unlikely event will happen "on the 32nd of the month". To express indefinite postponement, you might say that an event is deferred "to the [Greek] Calends" (see Latin). A less common expression used to point out someone's wishful thinking is Αν η γιαγιά μου είχε καρούλια, θα ήταν ...
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.
Another example would be the Japanese yojijukugo 一石二鳥 (isseki ni chō), which is translated as "one stone, two birds". This is, of course, analogous to "to kill two birds with one stone" in English. According to the German linguist Elizabeth Piirainen, the idiom "to get on one's nerves" has the same figurative meaning in 57 European ...
One hand washes the other; One kind word can warm three winter months; One man's meat is another man's poison; One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter; One man's trash is another man's treasure; One might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb; One might as well throw water into the sea as to do a kindness to rogues