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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).
Whereas some idioms are used only in a routine form, others can undergo syntactic modifications such as passivization, raising constructions, and clefting, demonstrating separable constituencies within the idiom. [9] Mobile idioms, allowing such movement, maintain their idiomatic meaning where fixed idioms do not: Mobile
If known, their origins are noted. A proverbial phrase or expression is a type of conventional saying similar to a proverb and transmitted by oral tradition. The difference is that a proverb is a fixed expression , while a proverbial phrase permits alterations to fit the grammar of the context.
Said by some to be the origin of the game command and title Simon says. [27] Cicero pro domo sua Cicero's speech in 57 BC to regain his confiscated house: Said of someone who pleads cases for their own benefit; see List of Latin phrases (P) § pro domo: circa (c.) or (ca.) around: In the sense of "approximately" or "about". Usually used of a date.
The phrase could also come from the idea of race horses "breaking their legs" (AKA how they're standing) at the starting line, which some riders believed was good luck and would lead to a good race.
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 ...
Popular culture derivation Derived from the older phrase "kick the bucket"; popularized by the 2007 film The Bucket List: Cargo 200: Corpses of soldiers Military slang: Military code word used in the Soviet Union and the post-Soviet states referring to the transportation of military casualties Cark-it [4] To die
Glossary of English-language idioms derived from baseball; Bed of roses; Belling the Cat; Best friends forever; Between Scylla and Charybdis; Bill matter; Birds of a feather flock together; Black sheep; Blessing in disguise; Blood, toil, tears and sweat; Born in the purple; The Boy Who Cried Wolf; Bread and butter (superstition) Break a leg ...