idiomi, lecture 05, 13_14

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14

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Inflectability of FEIs

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14


Inflectability of verbs in predicate

FEIs

Verbs in predicate FEIs normally inflect,although there may be restrictions onnumber , tense, aspect, voice and mood.

Also, other lexical items that supplysubjects, objects and prepositional objectsalmost always inflect fully. The exceptionsinvolve requirements for inserted nouns tobe plural (e.g. X+Y rub shoulders, or Xrubs shoulders with Y )

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14


Inflectability of nouns in FEIs

The problem of inflectability mainly involves thefixed nouns and adjectives in FEIs.

Nouns in non-metaphorical FEIs are more likelyto inflect than ones in metaphors.

Nouns bill , conclusion, and question inflect freelyin FEIs foot the bill , a forgone conclusion, andbeg the question.

The nouns in kick the bucket , bite the bullet and

spill the beans do not change, but in FEIs have achip on one’s shoulder , and (have) a frog inone’s throat both nouns pluralize.

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14


8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14



In terms of inflectability, there is aninteresting distinction between He has

pulled our legs (which refers to separate

occasions) and He has pulled our leg (which refers to a single occasion affectingthe plural referent of our). The distinctioncan also mean that with the plural forms,

the focus is on the individualexperiencers, whereas with the singular,focus is on the mass (examples on the

next slide)

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14



(1) Like a lot of Mt Isa old-timers, he‟ll yarn tovisitors, happily pu l l ing their legs a little,becoming just a little impatient with complaintsabout modern living in the outback.

(2) Ms Thomson is already making plans for nextyear‟s eisteddfod: „It has proved so popular wemust limit the number of acts but all childrenwill take part.‟ It‟s a worthy cause but is MsThomson pul l ing our leg by saying theeisteddfod is part of the Excellence InEducation In the Outback?

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14



There seems to be insecurity amongst speakersconcerning pluralizations – the FEIs arecomparatively infrequent, plural subjects are notthat common, and the rules are not formalized.

A partial solution is suggested by the occasionaluse of an inserted plural marker: collective isused as a grammatical device in metaphoricalFEIs with plural subjects or referents andindeterminate rules for pluralization; corporate is also used in this way, although this insertion isinfluenced by management or business context.

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14



In all examples, the action denoted by the FEI is a mass experience or joint action, rather than affecting people individually:

1. But advertisers have since mostly seen that they have shot themselvesand their viewers in their collective feet.

2. Banks, building societies and other high street lenders look set to put acollective hand in their pockets to help people in debt.

3. ...it is qualitatively different from the old review of the franchises where,provided the corporate nose had been kept reasonably clean, arenewal was virtually certain.

4. Tobacco was carrying health warnings in the West and it seemed prudentnot to put all your corporate eggs into one basket.

Shoot someone in the foot = do or say sth. stupid which causes problems foryou

Put one’s hand in one’s pocket = give money to charity

Keep one’s nose clean = keep out of trouble, esp. trouble with law

Put all one’s eggs in one basket = make everything dependent only on onething

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14


Distribution of proverbs in main and

subordinate clausesThe author did not record in her database the tenses in which FEIs

occurred in her corpus; she did not record mood choices of

interrogative and imperative either, except where they were

fossilized and near-mandatory, nor the clause types in which FEIs

occurred in her corpus.

However, the distribution of proverbs in main and subordinate

clauses shows some regularity. 20% of proverbs occur in

subordinate clauses, typically report clauses. In this way, the

selection of the proverb represents a further level of distancing or

interpretation on the part of the speaker/writer, reporting and

sheltering behind received wisdom.

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14


Examples of proverbs used in

subordinate clauses

1. There comes a point when we have to say

enough is enough.

2. Dudgeon, who throughout his professional life

stressed that prevention is better than cure,had the highly original idea that preliminary

trials should be undertaken in closed religious

communities. (“bolje spriječiti nego liječiti“)

3. You have to accept the notion that two heads

are better than one.

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14


Transformation

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Polarity (positive vs negative)

Negation is a very basic transformation.

Around 5% of database FEIs are

conventionally negative, i.e. a negative is

part of the canonical expression. Forexample: I k id you not , leave no stone

unturned , no laughing matter , not l i f t a

f inger , there is no t ime to lose , (thereis) no th ing new under the sun .

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14


Negation

A few other FEIs typically occur in

negative environments, for example: l i f t a

f inger , a red cent , at all , in the least , be

the end of the wor ld .

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14


Negation

The proportion of positive and negative clauses as regards FEIs,more specifically proverbs:

The typical case is where the canonical form is a negativeimperative or modal (Don’t ..., You can’t ...): such examples can betransformed to positive predicates, although a negative evaluationmay still be implied, e.g.:

(1) He wanted to have his cake and eat it – somehow to marry Mrs.Simpson and yet to remain on the throne. = you can’t have yourcake and eat it

(2) Well, Mr Patten will do his best to make a silk purse out of asow’s ear , and the audience will know it was not his idea. = youcan’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear (= you cannot make

a good quality product, using bad quality materials)

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14


Negation

In a few cases, proverb tokens have their

conventional polarity (either negative or

positive), but are then contradicted in the

further text:

(1) Variety, as the poet William Cowper first

observed, may be ‘the very spice of life’.

But in motor racing, the less the variety,the spicier the contest.

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14


Passivization

There are FEIs where passive forms are at

least as common as active forms:

(1) X bears something in mind

something is borne in mind

(2) X cuts Y short

Y is cut short

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14


Passivization

There are FEIs where there is no evidence in the

corpus of active forms:

(1)something is cheered to the echo = shout and

call a lot in order to support someone(2)X is laughed out of court = dismiss something

presented in earnest as ridiculous

(3)X is mentioned in dispatches = be commendedfor one‟s actions by name in an official military

report

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14


Nonfinite uses

FEIs can be used as –ing forms or infinitives:

(1)Or some writers felt they had earned the right in the

Seventies, and now had the duty, to participate in the

reassessment of the Left, if necessary by washing dirty

linen in public. Most writers have done a bit of both.

(2) A much grander house, the property of firm solicitors,

suffered similar treatment. Again, original, perfectly

sound wooden parts were destroyed and, to add insult

to injury, plastic, press-moulded doors inserted.

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14


Embedding

Embedding involves moving part of an FEI to a relative clause:

(1) Another straw at which we can clutch is that if real snow arrives

in the near future it will be falling on cold slopes and so will last

reasonably well. = clutch at straws

(2) It is not, however, easy to contemplate putting whole federations outof action. That is a bullet on which the Arthur Golds of this

world have steadfastly failed to bite. = bite the bullet

(3) The question begged by all those glowing predictions is whether

they will ever be fulfilled. = beg the question

(4) This may be a hard bullet for the left to bite, but there is noquestion of what families want. = bite the bullet

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14


Nominalization

There are three specific forms of

nominalizations of FEIs.

In the first, the FEI is truncated and reduced to

one of its clausal components:(1)a new broom sweeps clean - new broom

(2)every cloud has a silver lining – silver lining

(3)play second fiddle to someone – second fiddle

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14


Nominalization

In the second kind of nominalization, verbs

occur as verbal nouns or participial adjectives,

or they are replaced by cognate nouns:

(1)lose face – loss of face (loss – verbal noun)(2)stab someone in the back – a stab in the back

(stab - cognate noun)

(3)turn up one‟s nose – upturned noses(upturned – participial adjective)

(4)waste one‟s breath – a waste of breath (waste

– cognate noun)

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14


Nominalization

In the third kind, a different lexical item is

formed, often involving the inversion of the

original lexical elements:

(1)keep house – housekeeper

(2)pick someone‟s pocket – pickpocket

(3)take the mickey – mickey-taker, mickey-taking

(4)twist someone‟s arm – arm-twisting

8/11/2019 Idiomi, Lecture 05, 13_14


Transformation to adjectives

Adverbial and nominal FEIs may be

transformed into adjectives. The

transformations are often hyphenated, and

truncation is sometimes involved:

(1)(a)round the clock – round-the-clock

(2)face to face – face-to-face

(3)on the spur of the moment – spur-of-the-

moment

(4)clear as crystal – crystal-clear

idiomi, lecture 05, 13_14

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