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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).
When highly familiar idioms encountered, their idiomatic meanings can be directly activated. In addition, idioms can behave compositionally if they are decomposable. Decomposability of an idiom refers to the extent to which the literal meaning of the individual words in the word string participate in the overall figurative meaning of the 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]
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 ...
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.
Clichés are compositional in the sense that their meaning is more or less the sum of the meanings of their parts (not, for example, in no matter what), and clichés (unlike idioms) would be completely intelligible to someone hearing them for the first time without having learned the expression beforehand. They are not completely free ...