英语词汇学_Unit_12_English_Idioms

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EnglishLexicologyUnit12EnglishIdiomsWhatisanidiom?•Idiomsconsistofsetphrasesandshortsentences,whicharepeculiartothelanguageinquestionandloadedwiththenativeculturesandideas.Therefore,idiomsarecolourful,forcibleandthought-provoking.•Strictlyspeaking,idiomsareexpressionsthatarenotreadilyunderstandablefromtheirliteralmeaningsofindividualelements,forexample,flyoffthehandle(becomeexcessivelyangry)andputupwith(tolerate).•Inabroadsense,idiomsmayincludecolloquialisms,catchphrases,slangexpressions,proverbs,etc.TheyformanimportantpartoftheEnglishvocabulary.•Thischapterwilldealwithidiomsintermsoftheircharacteristics,classificationanduses.OverviewOriginofidiomsCharacteristicsofidiomsSemanticunityStructuralstability(syntacticfrozeness)GradableidiomaticitySemanticopacityClassificationofidiomsMetaphoricalidiomsnominalverbalprepositionalEnglishPhrasalverbsEnglishproverbsEnglishslangEnglishtwinwordsUseofidiomsTranslationsOriginofEnglishIdiomsLiteraryworksTheBibleMythologyFablesHistoricaleventsAnimalmetaphorDailylifeHomeIdiomsfromliteraryworksscrewone’scourage(鼓起勇气、壮起胆子)--ShakespeareMacbethtothemannerborn(与生俱来的)--Hamletpondofflesh(合情但悖于情理的要求)--MerchantofVenicemanFriday(忠仆、得力助手)--DanielDefoeRobinsonCrusoeBrevityisthesoulofwit.(Shakespeare)Livenottoeat,buteattolive.(Franklin)Knowledgeispower.(Bacon)IdiomsfromtheBibleJudas’skiss(犹大之吻,比喻出卖朋友)muchcryandlittlewool(雷声大,雨点小,比喻空叫喊——根据圣经故事:魔鬼看见纳巴尔在羊身上剪羊毛,也模仿着在猪身上剪,结果把猪弄得嗷嗷叫,却什么也没有剪下来)turntheothercheek(忍受暴力、忍受侮辱,上帝在布道时讲如果有人打你的左脸,你就把右脸也递出去)Thespiritiswilling,butthefleshisweak.(心有余而力不足)Sparetherodandspoilthechild.(棒打出孝子)。IdiomsfromMythologyPandora’sbox(潘多拉的盒子,引申为灾祸之源)Sphinx’sriddle(难解之谜,狮身人面怪兽提出“什么动物早晨四条腿,中午两条腿,而晚上三条腿”的谜语)theheelofAchilles(亦作theAchilles’heel,阿基里斯的脚踵,引申为唯一的弱点、要害)betweenScyllaandCharybdis(比喻进退维谷、腹背受敌)DeadSeafruit(比喻某些事物金玉其外、败絮其中,华而不实)Idiomsfromfablesnakedtruth(原原本本的事实、赤裸裸的事实)killthegoosethatlaidthegoldeneggs(杀鸡取卵、涸泽而鱼)sourgrapes(聊以自慰的话,狐狸吃不到葡萄就说葡萄是酸的)bellthecat(替别人冒风险,老鼠要给猫带上铃铛的寓言故事)cat’spaw(被别人利用的人,猴子想吃火中的栗子,骗猫为其火中取栗)thelaststraw(终于使人不能忍受的最后一击)awolfinsheep’sclothing(披着羊皮的狼,比喻危险人物、面善心毒的人)crywolf(狼来了!比喻发假警报)Idiomsfromhistoricaleventsmeetone’sWaterloo(一败涂地,出自1815年的“滑铁卢之战”,类似中国的败走麦城)burnone’sboats(bridges)(破釜沉舟,讲的是古罗马恺撒等名将出征时,常烧毁船只,士兵无路可退,只有勇往直前,战胜敌人)Idiomsfromanimalmetaphoraswiseasowls(聪明,西方人认为猫头鹰是聪明智慧的象征)asquietasmouse(安静如鼠,非常安静)astimidasrabbit(胆小如鼠)nospringchicken(已不再年轻的女人)swan’ssong(告别演出,源于天鹅将死时凄婉的鸣叫声)buryone’sheadinthesand(采取逃避措施、逃避现实,鸵鸟在遇到危险的时候会把头埋在沙子里)comeoutofthecocoon(停止自我封闭,开始与人交往)Idiomsfromdailylife(navigation,agriculture,etc.)ontherocks(触礁、濒临毁灭)allatsea(茫然)gowithstream(随波逐流)holdoutan/theolivebranch(愿意讲和,在西方橄榄枝被认为是和平的象征)reapwhatonehassowed(种瓜得瓜,种豆得豆)bedofroses(舒适的生活)ascoolascucumber(泰然自若、冷静)turnonanewleaf(改头换面)hearthroughthegrapevine(道听途说)beataroundthebush(旁敲侧击)besourgrapes(尖酸刻薄的人)spillthebeans(泄露秘密)CharacteristicsofidiomsSemanticunityEachidiomisasinglesemanticunity.Themeaningofanidiomisopaque;i.e.themeaningofanidiomisnotthetotalsumofthemeaningofitsconstituents.tillthecowscomehome:foraverylongtime;foreverHome•Thesemanticunityofidiomsisalsoreflectedintheillogicalrelationshipbetweentheliteralmeaningofeachwordandthemeaningoftheidiom.Manyidiomsaresemanticallyinexplicable.•Forexample,Howdoyoudo.Literallyitmeans‘Inwhatwaydoyoudothings’,whichisfarfromitsidiomaticusage.Similarly,raincatsanddogswhichisusedinthesenseof‘rainheavily’literallymakesnonsense.StructuralstabilityThestructureofanidiomusuallyremainsunchangeable.burythehatchet*burytheaxin(*the)questionoutof(the)questionManyidiomsaregrammaticallywrong,butidiomaticallyaccepted.Longtimenosee.Likecureslike.Gogreatguns.Home•First,theconstituentsofidiomscannotbereplaced.Takeinabrownstudyforexample.Usedasafreephrase,wecansayinabrown(red,green,white,etc.)studyorinabrownstudy(room,den,hall,studio,cell,etc.).However,asanidiomtomean‘deepinthought’,thestructureisfixed.•Secondly,thewordordercannotbeinvertedorchanged.Forexample,bytwosandthreesandtitfortatarenottobeturnedintobythreesandtwosandtatfortit.Similarly,thelion’sshareisnottobereplacedbytheshareofthelionthoughitisacommonpracticeinfreephrases.•Thirdly,theconstituentsofanidiomcannotbedeletedoraddedto,notevenanarticle.Forinstance,outofthequestionmeans‘impossible’.Ifthearticletheisdeleted,theidiomaticitywillbelostanditwillsignify‘noquestion’instead.Inquestion(beingconsidered)ontheotherhanddoesnotallowtheadditionoftheas*inthequestion,becausethelatterisnolongeranidiom.•Finally,manyidiomsaregrammaticallyunanalysable.Forexample,diamondcutdiamond.MeanwhilethereexistsastructurallysimilaridiomLikecureslike,inwhich-scannotbedeleted.(As)sureaseggsiseggs(quitecertainly)mayserveasanotherexample.Itisgrammaticallywrong,butidiomaticandwidelyaccepted.Gogreatguns(dosthvigorouslyorsuccessfully)GradableidiomaticityNoticetheidiomaticityofidiomsisgradableandmaybestbethoughtasacontinuum(连续体).idiomssemi-idiomslooselyidiomaticexpressions(themeaningcanbeunderstoodfromtheliteralmeaningoftheconstituents)makefriendswithsb.rainca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