Idiom variants observed in present-day English: systematic or creative?

Abstract

Idiom variants (IVs) such as only the peak of the iceberg—opposed to the more standard only the tip of the iceberg—are essential to understanding how idioms, integral subjects of research in phraseology, are being used today. However, idioms are generally defined as word combinations whose holistic meanings cannot be deduced from the sum of their components and whose components cannot be replaced with other words. Studies have merely described IVs or discussed what components of IVs may be replaced with other words from a morphological perspective. Few studies have investigated the systematic or creative dispositions of IVs. I have incorporated corpus pattern analysis to fulfill the following objectives: (1) discuss the semantic features of IVs; (2) clarify how IVs expand semantically from their original idioms; (3) develop rules and processes involved in the conception of IVs; and (4) differentiate between idioms that do and do not transform IV. I found that idioms become IVs by following certain rules and processes. Notably, some IVs develop semantic and syntactic features that differ from those of an original idiom, whereas others share semantic and syntactic features with the original idiom despite the lexical replacements of the components of the original idiom. Semantically complex idioms never alter IVs. The results suggest that idioms systematically transform IVs and contribute to shaping the general understanding of phraseology.