Words_about_words_An_introduction_to_Eng

Multi-Word Units in English

discourse: When both my parents were out of work, we lived from hand to mouth. / The economic crisis left us jobless and we are now living from

hand to mouth. / They have been living from hand to mouth from quite some time now. (to live from hand to mouth – “to live in poor circumstances”), etc. However, there are cases, such as that of proverbs, when verb idioms normally retain their original form. In none of the following sayings can the tense of the idioms in question be changed: A

watched pot never boils; A stitch in time saves nine; As they brew, so let

them bake; If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

Number varies in idioms with the same freedom as tense does. Fernando (1997: 44 - 45) illustrates this type of variation with the following examples:

Student: Can I throw in a red herring?

Tutor: Several.

Red herrings and the Iraki breakfast

But Mr. Whilam has to talk about these things – any red herring will do…(The Australian 4 March 1976: 6)

We went there one evening. I twisted Richie’s arm. I said he’s your brother-in-law too but they weren’t in.

If you can’t turn up, let us know – if necessary I can twist the arms of a few friends and get them to come.

If pluralization is impossible in some idioms – such as kick the bucket (*kick the buckets), smell a rat (*smell rats), out of step (*out of

steps), apple of one’s eye (*apples of one’s eye / apple of one’s eyes), so is the use of the singular in others – such as twiddle one’s thumbs (*twiddle

one’s thumb), raining cats and dogs (*raining a cat and a dog), a cat and dog life (*cats and dogs lives), for the birds (*for the bird), lovely weather

for ducks (*lovely weather for duck), etc.

As indicated above, content words may be replaced by other content words in a number of idioms: burn one’s boats / bridges, get / give / have cold feet, get the sack / ax, have the cards / deck stacked, etc. Besides

replacement, addition, permutation and deletion are also possible transformations in the structure of some idioms. Language users may introduce extra elements in idioms, not just to elaborate on the expressions per se, but to make the message they convey clearer or more emphatic (though, normally, addition is not allowed in an idiom). Fernando’s (1997: 48) examples meant to illustrate this type of transformation are:

Rudyard Kipling took the art world bull by the horns when he wrote ‘It’s clever, but is it art’? (The Sydney Morning Herald 4 December 1978: 16)

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Professor McDonald also suggested (with his tongue only partly in his cheek) that the current state of Australia’s economy could be attributed to analysts not able to interpret data… (Macquarie University News Nov/Dec 1987: 16)

It is very easy for those academics to look out of their carpeted ivory towers across the quagmire of business stagnation. (The Australian 8 December 1975)

As far as permutation possibilities are concerned, they vary from idiom to idiom. Some idiomatic expressions do not allow rearrangements in terms of their internal grammar, while others do, to a smaller or more extensive degree. In the former category, there are idioms such as say no

more (*no more was said), take forty winks (*forty winks have been taken), smell a rat (*John is a rat smeller). In the latter, there are idioms which allow for particle shift (which can be optional) – to beat up

somebody / to beat somebody up, to blow up something / to blow something up, for conversion of the “verb + object predicate” into a nominal phrase – drop a brick / a brick dropper, break the ice / an ice breaker or for passivization – he shed crocodile tears / crocodile tears were

shed, the president leaves no stone unturned / no stone is left unturned (by the president), etc.

While some idioms are so well established in the language with their truncated form that this is considered the norm (red herring from draw /

trail a red herring down the path, a rolling stone from a rolling stone gathers no moss), in the case of others, the hearer’s knowledge of the full expression is necessary to understand its meaning. Non-native speakers, for example, whose exposure to idioms has been through dictionaries, may find that deletions impede identification of some such expressions and obstruct their being interpreted correctly. Fernando (1996: 51) illustrates how deletion (and substitution) in the case of dangle a carrot before the donkey, for example, may result into expressions whose recognition and understanding may pose difficulties:

Sunshine dangles an issue carrot (headline) (The Australian 15 November 1975: 12)

Thatcher waves trade carrot (headline) (The Australian 6 August 1988: 3) The Prime Minister has offered some very appealing political carrots in his economic program. (The Australian 28 November 1975: 10)

Other examples of truncated idioms, quoted by Fernando (1996: 52)

are:

This fellow thought the Professor would drop him like a hot potato so he preferred a bird in the hand. (a bird in the hand is obtained through deletion from a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush)

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Norman Sherry is the epitome of the no-stone-unturned school of biographers… (The Sydney Morning Herald 10 June 1989: 85) (no-stone- unturned is truncated from to leave no stone unturned)

Institutionalization is also peculiar of idioms – they “are conventionalized expressions, conventionalization being the end result of initially ad hoc, and in this sense, novel, expressions” (Fernando 1996: 3).

From a stylistic point of view, idioms are characterized by such features as rhythm, rhyme, alliteration and imagery, which contribute to their euphony. Rhythm is specific to idioms which are made up of pairs of elements: tooth and nail – “with force and ferocity”; by fits and starts – “intermittent, variable in intensity and prolonged by interruptions”; heart and soul – “with complete faith”; movers and shakers – “people of energetic demeanour, who initiate change and influence events”, etc. Rhyme is peculiar to by hook or by crook – “by any means possible”; wear and tear – “damage that naturally and inevitably occurs as a result of normal wear or aging”; here, there and everywhere – “in or to many different places”; while alliteration is found in idioms such as (to buy) a pig in a poke – “to buy something without seeing it”; to leave in the lurch – “to leave in an uncomfortable or desperate situation”; without rhyme or reason

– “without purpose, order or reason”; to rant and rave – “to shout angrily and wildly about someone or something”, etc. Imagery in idioms may be achieved by simile – as like as two peas – “very similar”; as poor as a church mouse – “very poor”; as brown as a berry – “very brown from the sun”; as clear as crystal – “very clear”; as stiff as a poker – “rigid and inflexible”; to fit like a glove – “to fit perfectly”; to drink like a fish – “to drink very much”; metaphor – in a nutshell – “in a few words, concisely”; a cold fish – “a person who is distant and unfeeling”; a wolf in sheep’s clothing – “any hidden danger, or for any enemy putting on a false display of friendship”; a white elephant – “a valuable possession which the owner cannot dispose of, but whose cost (particularly cost of upkeep) exceeds its supposed usefulness”; metonymy and synecdoche – to go under the knife – “to have a medical operation”; not to lay a finger on someone – “not to touch or harm someone or something”; to have one foot in the grave – “to be very old and likely to die soon”; to have sticky fingers – “to have a tendency to steal”; hyperbole – to make a mountain out of a molehill – “to exaggerate”; to take the bull by the horns – “to do something difficult in a determined and confident way”; to pay and arm and a leg – “to pay a high price”; to feel on cloud number nine – “to feel very happy”; to be dressed to kill – “to be dressed in fancy or stylish clothes”; euphemisms – to be knocked up – “to be pregnant”; in one’s birthday suit – “fully naked”; six feet under – “dead”; hendiadys – safe and sound – “unharmed and whole or healthy”; soft and tender – “delicate”; at sixes and sevens – “in a state of confusion or disarray”; antithesis – short and the long of it – “the most important point, the summary of the matter”; for better or for worth –

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“whether the situation or consequences be good or ill”; to make neither head nor tail of something – “not to understand anything”, etc. Some idioms combine two or more figures of style – as busy as a bee – “very busy or very active”; as bold as brass – “with too much confidence”; as fit as a fiddle – “in very good health” (simile and alliteration); hale and hearty – “healthy”; safe and sound – “unharmed and whole or healthy” (alliteration and hendiadys); fair and square – “completely fair, justly, within the rules” (rhythm, rhyme and hendiadys).

The idioms discussed so far may be grouped into categories, according to their peculiarities - idioms with a direct / figurative meaning, with / without variable elements. Other possible categorizations concern the morphological class to which they belong, the semantic relationships between them, the domain of human activity to which they are connected or the image they evoke, the concept they refer to.

Thus, from a morphological point of view, idioms may be:

•nominal idioms: the apple of one’s eye, a bed of thorns, the lions’ share, a snake in the grass, a swan song, the man in the street, God’s acre, driving force, Johnny-come-lately;

•adjectival idioms: high and mighty, null and void, cut and dried, as neat as a new pin, off the cuff, rough and tumble, downhill all the way;

•verbal idioms: to cross the Rubicon, to cut corners, to hedge one’s bets, to jump on the bandwagon, to keep something under one’s hat, to play second fiddle, to make a clean breast of something, to nurse a grudge (against someone);

•adverbial idioms: off and on, by and by, out front, etc.

Looked at from the point of view of the semantic relationship that holds between them, idioms may be:

•synonymic idioms: babes and sucklings – a green / fresh / raw hand – spring chicken (“inexperienced people”); to sleep like a log – to sleep like a baby - to sleep the sleep of the just (“to sleep soundly”); down at the heels – out at elbows (“shabby, poorly dressed”); to spill the beans – to let the cat out of the bag (“to reveal a secret, to confess to something”); to skate on thin ice – to swim in troubled waters (“to do something risky, to take a chance”);

•antonymic idioms: as sober as a judge (“fully sober”) – as drunk as a lord (“very drunk”); a heart of gold (said about kind people) – a heart of stone (said about cold people); to make up one’s mind (“to decide”) – to be in two minds (“to hesitate”);

There are a number of polysemantic idioms in English. To go

west, for example, has at least three meanings: 1) “to die” (The beggars

knew that they would go west if they didn’t find shelter soon.); 2) “to be ruined” (Both of us made wrong investments and we went west in a year.); 3) “to go to a new location in order to start a better life” (Go west,

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there is little hope for a good life here.). To draw a blank may refer to “getting no response”, to “finding nothing” (I asked him about John’s financial problems and I just drew a blank.) or to “failing to remember something” (It was a very difficult test, with only one question to answer and I drew a blank.), while to give someone a start may mean one of the following: 1) “to help start someone’s car” (My friend gave me a start when my car was stalled.); 2) “to give someone training or a big opportunity in beginning one’s career” (My career began when my father gave me a start in the car industry.); 3) “to startle someone, to make someone jerk or jump from sudden fright” (I didn’t mean to give you a start. I should have

knocked before I entered.).

As indicated above, idioms may be grouped into classes according to the field of activity to which they refer or to the image they call to mind. Thus, the largest of these classes are connected to:

• the body and bodily functions: to be all ears (“to be interested in hearing about something” – Tell me what you know about this actress, I’m all ears.); to be all fingers and thumbs (“to be too clumsy to properly do something that requires manual dexterity” –

Let me plant these small seeds, you’re all fingers and thumbs.); to spend an arm and a leg (“to spend a fortune” – My brother spent an arm and a leg on his new car.); to have a bad hair day (“to have a time when things are not going the way one would like or has planned” – I have quarreled with my mother-in-law and I have

locked the keys inside my car, I am definitely having a bad hair day.); not to bat an eyelid (“not to react or show emotion when surprised, shocked, etc.” – I didn’t bat an eyelid when he told me about the accident.); to beat one’s brains out (“to think hard about something, but cannot solve, understand or remember it” – I’m

beating my brains out to tell you her name. I’m sure we have been introduced to each other.); to bite someone’s head off (“to criticize someone angrily” – My boss bit my head off for not having finished the report in time.); to have a close shave (“to nearly have a serious accident or get into trouble” – I had a close shave, I almost got bitten by a snake.); to give somebody the cold shoulder (“to ignore or to reject somebody” – She gave him the cold shoulder when he asked her to the party.); as dry as a bone (“completely dry” – Our

lawn is as dry as a bone; let’s hope it will rain tomorrow.); to fight tooth and nail (“to fight energetically and with determination” –

The police fought against the criminal tooth and nail.); to give someone a leg up (“to help one achieve something that one couldn’t have done alone” – My friend handed in the documents in time only

because I gave him a leg up with their translation.); to have a hollow leg (“to eat more than one’s stomach seems to be able to hold” – Tom has already eaten ten sandwiches, he must have a hollow leg.); a kick in the teeth (“bad news or sudden

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disappointment” – His not having passed the final examination

was a kick in the teeth for his parents.); to make one’s blood boil (“to make one very angry” – His not keeping his promises makes my blood boil.); to make one’s flesh crawl (“to scare or revolt one” –

That strange man with a knife in his hand made my flesh crawl.); on the nose (“right on time” – This project will be finished on the nose.); a pain in the neck (“something that is very annoying, disturbing” - Alice is such a pain in the neck when she unreasonably

complains about being too fat.), etc;

• food: to put all one’s eggs in one basket (“to risk everything at once” – Don’t put all your eggs in one basket unless you want to

lose everything in case there is a catastrophe.); to go back to the salt mine (“to go back to work” – I would like to keep chatting with

you but I have to go back to the salt mine.); bread and butter

(“means of support, livelihood” – I can’t miss another day of work. That’s my bread and butter; “the essential element of something, the mainstay” – Sentimentality and politics were the bread and

butter of the Academy Awards.); to chew the fat with someone (“to talk at leisure with someone” – We are chewing the fat about our school days.); duck soup (“an easy thing to do” - Knitting a sweater is duck soup for Maria.); to have a finger in the pie (“to have a role in something, to be involved in something” – Tess wants to have a

finger in the pie, she doesn’t think we can finish writing the project by ourselves.); to be on the gravy train (“to have found an easy way to make a lot of money” – For many, not paying taxes to the state is being on the gravy train.); meat and potatoes (“basic, sturdy, and hearty; it often refers to a robust person, with simple tastes in food and other things” – There is no point in trying to cook something

special for the Wilsons. They are strictly meat and potatoes; Fred is a meat and potatoes kind of guy.); pie in the sky (“something that seems good but is unlikely to be achieved” – Those plans of his to set

up his own business are just pie in the sky.); to save somebody’s bacon (“to save someone from failures or difficulties” – You saved

my bacon there. I’d probably lost my job if you hadn’t provided a

good explanation for my foolish behaviour.); that’s the way the cookie crumbles (said to mean that things do not always turn out the way one wants and there is nothing one can do about this – I can’t

believe they chose Tom for the job and not me. Ah well, that’s the way the cookie crumbles.), etc;

• animals: to be all bark and no bite (“to talk tough but not to be so really” – Don’t be afraid, he will not fire you, he’s all bark and no bite.); as the crow flies (it refers to the shortest possible distance between two places – There are 20 kilometers between Timisoara and Arad, as the crow flies.); at a snail’s pace (“very slowly” – If

you keep walking at a snail’s pace, we won’t make it to the castle

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today.); to back the wrong horse (“to give one’s support to the losing part in something” – You’re backing the wrong horse, the

local team will never win the championship.); to be on the pig’s back (“to be happy / content / in fine form” – I was on the pig’s

back when they told me that I had won a trip to Hawaii.); to have a bigger fish to fry (“not to be interested in something because there are more important things for one” – I won’t bother investing in

this small business, I have a bigger fish to fry.); to lead a cat and dog’s life (“not to get along, to argue constantly” - They have lead a

cat and dog’s life for some time now, they simply can’t stop quarrelling.); to throw somebody to the wolves (“to abandon somebody when s/he is in a difficult situation” – I shall never

forgive her for having thrown me to the wolves when I most needed her help.); like a bull in a China shop (“very clumsy” – He

was like a bull in a china shop with our clients and they complained to our manager.); a calf lick (“a parting where one’s hair grows in a different direction” – I can’t do my hair the way I want because of this calf lick.); to cast pearls before swine (“to offer something of value to someone who doesn’t appreciate it” –

Offering her books for her birthday is just casting pearls before

swine, she has never liked reading.); to put / let / set the cat among the pigeons (“to create disturbance and cause trouble” – Jane let the

cat among the pigeons when she announced she was going to join the army.); dog days (“very hot summer days” – I’d rather be in the

mountains these dog days.); to have one’s ducks in a row (“to be well-organized” – My boss always has his ducks in a raw, he can

find whatever document you need in seconds.); from the horse’s mouth (“directly from the person concerned or responsible” – You

have to believe me, I have heard it from the horse’s mouth.); the lion’s share (“the biggest or best part of something, often obtained by unfair means” – If my partner gets the lion’s share again, I’m

out of this business immediately.); pecking order (“the order of importance or rank” – Don’t forget to place the guests at tables in the pecking order.); a bird’s eye view (“a view seen from high above” – We got a bird’s eye view of New York as the plane began its descent; “a brief survey of something” – All you need is a bird’s eye view of the events of World War II to pass the test.), etc;

• plants: to bark up the wrong tree (“to have misunderstood something, to be totally wrong” – You’re barking up the wrong

three; I’ll move on to the next question before you give me another incorrect answer.); the apple of one’s eye (“one’s favorite person” –

Tom is the apple of Mary’s eye. She thinks he’s great.); to clutch at straws (“to try anything to get out of serious trouble” – Applying for

credit at a bank that nobody trusts was just clutching at straws.); to come up smelling of roses (“to emerge from a situation with one’s

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reputation undamaged” – Though the senator was seen endorsing a

false document, he came up smelling of roses.); to gild the lily (“to decorate something that is already ornate” – Three more stars in the

Christmas tree means just gilding the lily.); to grasp the nettle (“to deal bravely with a difficult situation” – He grasped the nettle and

told her that he had been sentenced to five year’s imprisonment.); to let the grass grow round one’s feet (“to delay doing things instead of taking action” – If you let the grass grow round your feet, you

will miss the chance of being nominated for the presidential elections.); a bed of roses (“a situation or way of life that is always happy and comfortable” – They love each other so much that

marriage has always been a bed of roses.); to put someone out to pasture (“to force somebody to resign or give up some responsibilities” – The president of the company was put out of pasture for bad management.); to run around the bush (“to take a long time to get to the point” – Stop running around the bush and

tell me how much money you would like me to lend you.); a thorn in one’s side (“someone or something that causes trouble” – I told

him to be in time for the trial and he keeps being a thorn in my side. He’s late again!); not to see the wood for the trees (“not to perceive the overview or the important things because of concentrating too much on details” – The information in this

textbook is so disorganized that I can’t see the wood for the trees.); to wither / die on the vine (“to be ignored or neglected and thereby be wasted, to be destroyed gradually” - Fred thinks he is withering

on the vine because he has not been given a role in the play; Plans

to create cheap housing for the poor seem doomed to wither on the vine.), etc;

• sport: to hit (someone) below the belt (“to do something unfair or unsporting to someone” – Bill is difficult to deal with in business. He often hits below the belt.); foul play (“illegal activities, bad practices” – The police investigating this crime suspect it is

connected to foul play; All students answered the test questions in

exactly the same way; Therefore, their teacher imagined this was the result of foul play.); par for the course (“typical, about what one could expect” – Did he leave you there alone in the dark? That’s not

par for the course for somebody who pretends to be your friend.); swim with / against the tide (“to do what other people are doing / the opposite of what other people are doing, to go against the trend”

– Wearing worn out jeans is swimming with the tide for young people; John never agrees to what his team mates suggest; he

tends to always swim against the tide.); to keep one’s eye on the ball (“to stay alert and pay close attention to what is happening” – If

you want to be able to write a proper review of the play you have to keep your eye on the ball till its very end.); (whole) new ball

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game (“a new set of circumstances” – You can no longer do the

things that you used to do around here. It’s been a whole new game since Mary became our manager.); down for the count (“finished for the time being, having lost a struggle” – After the teacher

rebuked me in class, I knew I was down for the count.); to learn the ropes (“to understand new things” – The first week on the job you will just be learning the ropes.); out in left field (“nowhere near being true, nowhere near doing something correctly” – All of the

students laughed when Joe gave an answer which was out in left field.); to win hands down (“to obtain an easy victory” – The other

team was missing four of its players so we won hands down.); to throw in the towel (“to give up” – If they don’t accept our offer this

time, we are going to throw in the towel and look for a new house somewhere else.); to get / set / start the ball rolling (“to start something, to get some process going” – If I could get the ball

rolling, I’m sure others will help me later.), etc;

• trades: to have too many irons in the fire (“to be doing too many things at once” – Tom had too many irons in the fire and missed

some important deadlines.); between hammer and anvil (“in a difficult situation, possibly having to make a difficult choice” – I felt

between hammer and anvil when I was asked which of the two

sisters was the more beautiful.); to bring grist to the mill (“to turn something to profit or advantage” – He has made a lot of money

using his connections. He certainly knows how to bring grist to the mill.); in full blast (“using full power, in full activity” – Though it

was early in the morning, the engineers were working in full blast.); jack of all trades (“someone who can do several different jobs instead of specializing in one” – My brother can do plumbing,

carpentry and roofing, but none of them well; he’s a real jack of all trades.); to mend (one’s) fences (“to restore good relations with someone” – Sally called her uncle to apologize for having been

rude and tried to mend fences.), etc.

5.2.3. Pragmatic idioms

Pragmatic idioms (routines or social formulas) are fixed, stereotypical expressions used as single unit utterances in everyday conversation and “closely bound to a special function or communication situation” (Aijmer 1996: 13). “No change is possible within the unit and, generally, the immediate environment is quite predetermined” (Kecskes 2003: 106). Examples of pragmatic idioms include:

Let me introduce my brother, Jack, to you.

Nice to meet you, Jack. (introductions)

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Diane, are you all right?

Oh, yes, I’m fine, thanks. (inquiry and acknowledgement)

Thank you for having us to stay for dinner. It has been a lovely evening. It was my pleasure. (thanks and acknowledgement)

Can I help you, sir?

No, thank you. I’m just looking. (exchange between shop assistant and customer)

I’d like to buy a ticket for London.

Single or return? (exchange between ticket seller and customer)

What would you like to drink?

A cup of coffee, please.

Black or white? (exchange between bar tender and customer)

5.3. Multiword verbs

5.3.1. Definition

Multiword verbal constructions consist of two elements - a main verb (usually of Germanic origin, such as: call, come, cut, get, go, make, put, set, take, etc.), and one or two particles (the most frequent of which are, as stated in the Collins Cobuild Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs: about,

after, against, along, around, at, back, by, down, for, from, in, off, out, over, through, to, under, up, with, etc.) – which are perceived as constituents of a single unit.

5.3.2. Characteristics and classification

There are two main criteria on the basis of which different categories of multiword verbs are identified. First, the presence of a preposition or an adverb after the main verb will establish the distinction between prepositional and phrasal verbs. Second, the number of particles following the main verb will help distinguish between

prepositional and phrasal verbs on the one hand and phrasalprepositional verbs on the other.

Prepositional verbs consist of a main verb and a preposition and are always followed by an object expressed by a noun or a pronoun (which

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