2. Difference between phraseological units and free groups.

This is the most discussed and the most controversial problem of phraseology. The task of distinguishing between free word–groups and phraseological units is complicated by the existence of a great number of marginal cases, so–called semi–fixed or semi–free word–groups, also called non–phraseological word-groups such as: to go bed, to take a shower, to force a smile, to wear a grin, etc. Such semi-fixed word-groups are as structurally stable as phraseological units are, but they lack semantic unity and figurativeness.

There exist two major criteria for distinguishing between phraseological units and free word–groups, they are: semantic and structural.

1) Semantic criterion: phraseological units are characterized by semantic unity and completely or partially transferred meaning.

By semantic unity we understand the fact that phraseological units convey a single concept. For example, a skeleton in the cupboard ‘a family secret’, to play second fiddle ‘to occupy a secondary, subordinate position’, gooseberry fool ‘a starchy jelly from gooseberry’ and so on.

The meanings of each constituent part of these phraseological units merge and produce an entirely new meaning. In free word–groups each meaningful component stands for a separate concept.

Possession of semantic unity makes phraseological units similar to words (remember the difference between a word blackbird and a word group a black bird). Words are also characterized by structural unity (blackbirds – single grammatical framing; cf. also lecture 1 second year, fourth term in this book). Phraseological units lack structural unity being combinations of words.

Professor A.V. Koonin, the leading authority on problems of English phraseology in our country gave the following definition of a phraseological unit: “A phraseological unit is a stable word–group characterized by a completely or partially transferred meaning”.

So, the degree of semantic change in a phraseological unit varies. It may affect either the whole word–group or only one of its components.

1. The semantic change affects the whole word–group, e.g. ships that pass in the night ‘chance acquaintances’; cat’s paw ‘one who is used for the convenience of a cleverer and stronger person’, all the world and his wife ‘every body’, to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds ‘to play a double game’, to put one’s oar in’ ‘to interfere’.

The term ‘idiom’ both in this country and abroad is mostly applied to phraseological units with completely transferred meaning.

2. The semantic change affects only one of the components of a word–group, the other component preserves its current meaning, e.g. the lungs of London ‘London parks’, nails in mourning ‘dirty nails’, red–letter day ‘a holiday, a happy day’, to talk cold turkey ‘to talk business’, and so on.

We should be aware that the borderline between such expressions and semi-fixed word–groups is rather uncertain.

2) Structural criterion means structural invariability of phraseological units, though some of them possess it to a lesser degree than others.

a) Substitution in phraseological units is restricted. As a rule, no word can be substituted for any meaningful component without destroying its sense. It we say *all the world and her husband or *cow love instead of all the world and his wife and calf love, these expressions will make no sense.

In free word–groups substitution does not lead to any serious consequences.

2. Introduction of additional components into the structure of a phraseological unit is also restricted, no word can be added to a word–group. One cannot say to out one’s *big foot into one’s *little mouth but only used without any adjectives it will be a phraseological unit to out one’s foot into one’s mouth and will mean ‘to make a rough mistake’.

Yet, in fiction such variation of idioms happen for stylistic purposes.

2. Phraseological units are grammatically invariable. One cannot say to find faults with somebody, but only to find fault with somebody, you cannot say from head to feet but only from head to foot.

Yet, again, there are exceptions to this rule, e.g. one can be deader than a doornail (phraseological unity: dead as a doornail), the night may be blacker than a pitch (phraseological unity: as black as a pitch), blue blood may be the bluest in England, a family can have skeletons in the cupboard, one can built castles in the air, etc.