Related Research Articles
A proverb is a simple,traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial expression is a type of a conventional saying similar to proverbs and transmitted by oral tradition. The difference is that a proverb is a fixed expression,while a proverbial phrase permits alterations to fit the grammar of the context. Collectively,they form a genre of folklore.
An idiom is a phrase or expression that usually presents a figurative,non-literal meaning attached to the phrase. Some phrases which become figurative idioms,however,do retain the phrase's literal meaning. Categorized as formulaic language,an idiom's figurative meaning is different from the literal meaning. Idioms occur frequently in all languages;in English alone there are an estimated twenty-five million idiomatic expressions.
A Japanese proverb may take the form of:
An idiom dictionary is a dictionary or phrase book that lists and explains idioms –distinctive words or phrases having a figurative meaning that goes beyond the original semantics of the words.
Chengyu are a type of traditional Chinese idiomatic expressions,most of which consist of four characters. Chengyu were widely used in Classical Chinese and are still common in vernacular Chinese writing and in the spoken language today. According to the most stringent definition,there are about 5,000 chéngyǔ in the Chinese language,though some dictionaries list over 20,000. Chéngyǔ are considered the collected wisdom of the Chinese culture,and contain the experiences,moral concepts,and admonishments from previous generations of Chinese speakers. Nowadays,chéngyǔ still play an important role in Chinese conversations and education. Chinese idioms are one of four types of formulaic expressions,which also include collocations,two-part allegorical sayings,and proverbs.
You can't have your cake and eat it (too) is a popular English idiomatic proverb or figure of speech. The proverb literally means "you cannot simultaneously retain possession of a cake and eat it,too". Once the cake is eaten,it is gone. It can be used to say that one cannot have two incompatible things,or that one should not try to have more than is reasonable. The proverb's meaning is similar to the phrases "you can't have it both ways" and "you can't have the best of both worlds."
The expression as the crow flies is an idiom for the most direct path between two points.
The idiom "the straw that broke the camel's back" describes a minor or routine action that causes an unpredictably large and sudden reaction due of the cumulative effect of other small actions. It alludes to the proverb "it is the last straw that breaks the camel's back".
Many Chinese proverbs exist,some of which have entered English in forms that are of varying degrees of faithfulness. A notable example is "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step",from the Dao De Jing,ascribed to Laozi. They cover all aspects of life,and are widely used in everyday speech,in contrast to the decline of the use of proverbs in Western cultures. The majority are distinct from high literary forms such as xiehouyu and chengyu,and are common sayings of usually anonymous authorship,originating through "little tradition" rather than "great tradition".
"The pot calling the kettle black" is a proverbial idiom that may be of Spanish origin,of which English versions began to appear in the first half of the 17th century. It means a situation in which somebody accuses someone else of a fault which the accuser shares,and therefore is an example of psychological projection,or hypocrisy. Use of the expression to discredit or deflect a claim of wrongdoing by attacking the originator of the claim for their own similar behaviour is the tu quoque logical fallacy.
A Chinese dictionary is a reference work for the Chinese language. There are two main types of Chinese dictionaries:zidian,which list individual Chinese characters and their definitions,and cidian,which list words and short phrases along with their meanings. Because written Chinese consists of tens of thousands of characters,over time editors of Chinese dictionaries have developed a number of ways to organize them for convenient reference.
Adynaton is a figure of speech in the form of hyperbole taken to such extreme lengths as to insinuate a complete impossibility:
I will sooner have a beard grow in the palm of my hand than he shall get one on his cheek.
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative,non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest;i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words. By another definition,an idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements. For example,an English speaker would understand the phrase "kick the bucket" to mean "to die" –and also to actually kick a bucket. Furthermore,they would understand when each meaning is being used in context.
Being between Scylla and Charybdis is an idiom deriving from Greek mythology,which has been associated with the proverbial advice "to choose the lesser of two evils". Several other idioms,such as "on the horns of a dilemma","between the devil and the deep blue sea",and "between a rock and a hard place" express similar meanings. The mythical situation also developed a proverbial use in which seeking to choose between equally dangerous extremes is seen as leading inevitably to disaster.
It takes two to tango is a common idiomatic expression which suggests something in which more than one person or other entity are paired in an inextricably-related and active manner,occasionally with negative connotations.
Damning with faint praise is an English idiom,expressing oxymoronically that half-hearted or insincere praise may act as oblique criticism or condemnation. In simpler terms,praise is given,but only given as high as mediocrity,which may be interpreted as passive-aggressive.
The phrase out of the frying pan into the fire is used to describe the situation of moving or getting from a bad or difficult situation to a worse one,often as the result of trying to escape from the bad or difficult one. It was the subject of a 15th-century fable that eventually entered the Aesopic canon.
The expression cart before the horse is an idiom or proverb used to suggest something is done contrary to the natural or normally effective sequence of events. A cart is a vehicle that is ordinarily pulled by a horse,so to put the cart before the horse is an analogy for doing things in the wrong order. The figure of speech means doing things the wrong way round or with the wrong emphasis or confusing cause and effect.
"To rob Peter to pay Paul",or other versions that have developed over the centuries such as "to borrow from Peter to pay Paul",and "to unclothe Peter to clothe Paul",are phrases meaning to take from one person or thing to give to another,especially when it results in the elimination of one debt by incurring another. There are many other variants and similar phrases in numerous languages. "Maneuvering the Apostles",which has the same meaning,was derived from this expression. In patchwork,"Rob Peter to pay Paul" is an alternative name for the Drunkard's Path patchwork block.
References
- ↑ Jiao, Liwei; Stone, Benjamin (2014-06-11). 500 Common Chinese Proverbs and Colloquial Expressions: An Annotated Frequency Dictionary. Routledge. p. 268. ISBN 9781134652358.
- ↑ Akenos, Aris. 4327 Chinese Idioms. Lulu.com. pp. 233–234. ISBN 9781471608513.
- ↑ Rohsenow, John S. (2003). ABC Dictionary of Chinese Proverbs (Yanyu) (in English and Chinese). University of Hawaii Press. p. 84. ISBN 9780824827700.
- ↑ LaFleur, Robert André (2003). China: A Global Studies Handbook. ABC-CLIO. p. 184. ISBN 9781576072844.