Chapter 7  Features of English Idioms   

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Characteristics of  Idioms

1. Semantic unity

  Being phases or sentences ,idioms each consist of more than one word ,but each is a semantic unity. Idiom have their respective literal meanings .for instance, till the cows come home

Keep in mind< remember>  take off <imitate模仿> 

to no avail <useless>    like a breeze <easily>

2. Structural stability 结构稳定

    First the constituents of idioms cannot be replaced

Lip service <support only in words ,not in fact > is not to be changed into mouth service . Kick the bucket<die>  bury the hatchet <come to friendly or peaceful terms>

Secondly ,the word order cannot be inverted or changed ,for example ,by twos and threes and tit for tat are not to be turned into by threes and twos and tat for tit

The lion share is ....最大的，份额

Thirdly,the constituents of an idioms cannot be deleted or added too . Not even an article

 Finally many idioms are grammatically unanalysable for exampel ,diamond cut diamond <two parties are equally matched >

Sure as eggs is eggs <quite certainly>

 It should be pointed out that the idiomaticity of idioms is gradable and may best be thought in terms of a scale

His promotionstepped up <improve or enhance>

The boy playing in the river in the raw <naked>

Turn over a new leaf <begin a new life>, as cool as a cucumber泰然自若 draw the certain <end or conceal> 

Idioms nominal in nature

Idioms of this class have a noun as the key word in each and function as a noun in sentences

 White elephant<a+n>something useless and unwanted but big and costly 华而不实的东西

Pink elephant 

The Elephant in the room

Brain trust< n+n>智囊团

An appel of discord< n+prep+n>祸根

Jack of all trades<n+prep+det+n>万事通，三脚猫

Fly in the ointment<n+prep+n>something that spoils the perfection of something

Flesh and blood 亲情

Idioms adjective in nature

Cut and dried< a+a>already settled and unlikely to be changed

As poor as a church mouse<as+a+as+n>having ,or earning ,barely enough money for one’s needs

Wide of the mark <not at all suitable ,correct>

Beyond the pale <beyond the limit of proper behaviour>

Up in the air< uncertain>

Idioms verbal in nature

This is the largest group of all .subdivided into phrasal verbs短语动词 and other verb phrases动词短语

Look into< investigate>调查，研究 go on <continue>

Put off< discourage ...from ; cause....to ;dislike . Delay .make excuses in order to avoid a duty>

Turn on 兴趣盎然 get away with <get something wrong without being punished>

Put down to 把.....归因于

Mak it 赶上了 follow one’s nose 朝相同地方走

Fall flat< fail completely in its intended or expected effect>

Give sb the bag 炒鱿鱼

Sing a different tune <change one’s opinion or attitude>

Call it a day< decide or agree to stop either temporary or for good>

Chop and change 变化无常

Swim against the stream 不随波逐流

Come back to earth 脚踏实地

Make ends meet 收支平衡

Keep the pot boiling 量入为出，维持生计

Let the dog see the rabbit 好狗不挡道

Bite the hand that feeds one恩将仇报

Tooth and nail 全力以赴

Through thick and thin 同舟共济

In clover or in the clover 生活安逸

Sentence idioms

They are mainly proverbs and sayings ,including colloquialisms and catchphrase ,as far as sentence types are concerned,they embrace declarative ,interrogative , imperative, and exclamative sentences. In terms of complexity they can be further divided into simple compound and complex sentence

Never do things by halves 不要半途而废

That’s the time of day <exclamative,simple>

Let the sleeping dog die 别多管闲事

 A leopard cannot change its spots

Behind the mountains there are people to be found

Upon my word 正如所言，的确

Art is long , life is short ,生命短暂，艺术无涯

Pepper and salt 花白的头发

Bag and baggage 所有家当

High and low 高低贵贱

Use of  idioms

We need aware of the rhetoric characteristics of idioms such as stylistic , features , rhetoric features and their occasional variations

In deep water 陷入困境， tide over克服

Take the helm 掌权

If you run after two hares , you will catch neither

脚踩两只船

Have all one’s eggs in one basket 孤注一掷

New brooms sweep clean 新官上任三把火

Wash one’s dirty linen in public 家丑不可外扬

Keep the pot boiling 维持生计

Boil down 压缩

Jump the bait上钩了

Hit below the belt 玩阴的   play fair 公平竞争

Come to pass< take place ,happen >

Be it that< even though >即使，尽管

In the wake of <right after, following>紧接着

Give the lie to <all sb  a lair >称某人是骗子

Of  note <notable , well-know>著名的

Mishandle, mess up , 搞砸了

Variations of idioms

1. Replacement

2. Addition or deletion

3. Position-shifting

4. Shortening

5. Dismembering