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"idiom"
Definition: A set expression of two or more words that means something other than the literal meanings of its individual words.
Etymology:
From the Latin, "own, personal, private"
Examples and Observations:
- "The man of genius is he and he alone who finds such joy in his art that he will work at it come hell or high water."
(Stendhal)
- "Every cloud has its silver lining but it is sometimes a little difficult to get it to the mint."
(Don Marquis)
- "If natural language had been designed by a logician, idioms would not exist."
(Philip Johnson-Laird, 1993)
- "Fads are the kiss of death. When the fad goes away, you go with it."
(Conway Twitty)
- "I worked the graveyard shift with old people, which was really demoralizing, because the old people didn't have a chance in hell of ever getting out."
(Kate Millett)
- "I voted Republican this year; the Democrats left a bad taste in my mouth."
(Monica Lewinsky)
- "The thought hit me that this was a pretty pathetic way to kick the bucket--being accidentally poisoned during a photo shoot, of all things--and I started weeping at the idiocy of it all."
(Lara St. John)
Pronunciation: ID-ee-um
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