Animals in Idioms
Animals in Idioms

Summary/Abstract: We often read or hear the phrase ‘language is a living thing’, but seldom stop to think what it really means. Living things grow, change and die, and so does language. Socio-linguistic studies have shown that the general tendencies of present-day English are towards more idiomatic usage. Thus, educated usage has recently become more flexible and tolerant about what is considered to be correct or acceptable not only in several parts of grammar, but also in style. Therefore it is important to remember that idioms are not only colloquial expressions associated with conversation and informal language, a separate part of the language, which one can choose either to use or to omit, but form an essential part of the vocabulary of English. An idiom is a special kind of phrase. It can be defined as a group of words that - when used together - have a meaning different from the individual meaning of each word.

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