Question:
What exactly is an idiom? One book I just pulled off my self, George Reeves'
Idioms in Action, seems to have mostly phrasal verbs (look forward to, do
without) and common expressions (once in a while, would rather) that I wouldn't
have thought of as expamples of idioms. Another one, Attitudes Through Idioms,
by Thomas Adams and Susan Kuder, groups idioms around a theme. For instance,
under Compromise, they list all or nothing, find middle ground, give-and-take,
go halfway, meet someone halfway, middle-of-the-road, and stick to one's guns.
That seems more like it.
I'm not sure if the Adams and Kuder book is still in print, since it was
published by Newbury House, but the approach of trying to illustrate North
American cultural attitudes through idioms is more interesting than the usual
catch-as-catch-can paragraph or dialog with a miscellaneous assortment.
I have a list of slang reported in last fall's Washington Post, but it won't
fit here...next msg.
Answer:
to all those interested in idioms,
I mentioned "The ESL Miscellany" the other day in answer to a list
of words associated with the "law" and "courts." _The ESL Miscellany_
also has hundreds of idioms and expressions with all its word lists. For
example, a few under "law" and "police and crime" are as follows: bail
out, death row, jailbird, take the law into one's own hands, take the
stand, throw the book at, third degree, cement overshoes, inside job, rub
someone out, etc.
I don't get any "kickbacks" (another idiom), and my "palm is not
greased" for recommending this book, but I will "go out on a limb" and
"swear on a stack of Bibles" that "it's high time" that all ESL teachers
should "check out" this book "ASAP" (as soon as possible) or "PDQ" (pretty
darn quick). "In a nutshell," I recommend it.
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