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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).
The original meaning was similar to "the game is afoot", but its modern meaning, like that of the phrase "crossing the Rubicon", denotes passing the point of no return on a momentous decision and entering into a risky endeavor where the outcome is left to chance. alenda lux ubi orta libertas: Let light be nourished where liberty has arisen
Idiom. An idiom is a phrase or expression that usually presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase. Some phrases which become figurative idioms, however, do retain the phrase's literal meaning. Categorized as formulaic language, an idiom's figurative meaning is different from the literal meaning. [1]
A couple of other expressions are quand les poules auront des dents ("when hens have teeth") [19] and quand les coqs pondront des œufs ("when roosters lay eggs"). An expression, today falling into disuse, is la semaine des quatre jeudis ("the week of the four Thursdays"), as in "that will happen (or not) during the week of the four Thursdays ...
Cold hands, warm heart [a] Comparisons are odious [a] Count your blessings [a] Courage is the measure of a Man, Beauty is the measure of a Woman [a] Cowards may die many times before their death [a] Crime does not pay [a] Cream rises. Criss-cross, applesauce [a] Cross the stream where it is shallowest.
Idioms. An idiom is a phrase whose meaning could not be readily deduced from the meaning of its individual words. The word comes from the Greek ἰδίωμα (idioma) – the distinctive style of a particular person. The traditional example is "kick the bucket" which is normally understood to mean dying. The extent to which a phrase is thought ...
Back-seat driver. Barking up the wrong tree. 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.
The following is a list of phrases from sports that have become idioms (slang or otherwise) in English. They have evolved usages and meanings independent of sports and are often used by those with little knowledge of these games. The sport from which each phrase originates has been included immediately after the phrase.