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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. [1] [2] In 1768, John Ray defined a proverbial phrase as:
A good cryptic clue should provide a fair and exact definition of the answer, while at the same time being deliberately misleading. Another type of wordplay used in cryptics is the use of homophones. For example, the clue "A few, we hear, add up (3)" is the clue for SUM. The straight definition is "add up", meaning "totalize".
A version of this appears in the Prologue to "The Cook's Tale" (written in 1390) by Geoffrey Chaucer: "Ful ofte in game a sooth I have herd saye!".[2]An early print appearance of the most familiar form of this aphorism was in Volume VII of the Roxburghe Ballads, where it appears in the prologue to The Merry Man's Resolution, or A London Frollick.
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).
German – Wenn Schweine fliegen können! is identical with the English saying "when pigs fly", although the older proverb Wenn Schweine Flügel hätten, wäre alles möglich ("if pigs had wings, everything would be possible") is in more common use, often modified on the second part to something impossible, like "if pigs had wings, even your ...
The fixed words of the idiom (in orange) in each case are linked together by dependencies; they form a catena. The material that is outside of the idiom (in normal black script) is not part of the idiom. The following two trees illustrate proverbs: The fixed words of the proverbs (in orange) again form a catena each time.
When a reader encounters an unknown word or phrase in a text, context clues are anything in the text that helps them understand or guess the meaning of it. It can be synonyms, antonyms, explanations, examples, or familiar word-parts (prefix or suffix). [10] It can be definitions, comparisons, or contrasts. [11]
The proverb is found in a number of forms. Benjamin Franklin included a version in his Poor Richard's Almanack (1758), but over a century earlier, the poet George Herbert included it in a 1640 collection of aphorisms.