8.4 The Criteria of Phraseological Units

Scholars recognize the following characteristics of PUs: motivatability/ integrity/ transference of meaning (all three terms cover figurativeness of meaning), stability, separability, variability, and expressivity and emotiveness. In regards to motivatability, PUs can be divided into unmotivated and partially motivated (or partially non-motivated) phraseological units. The meaning of a PU is metaphorical; it cannot be deduced from the meanings of its components. “The meaning of the resultant combination [a phraseological unit] is opaque; it is not related to the meaning of the individual words” (Palmer, 1990, p. 78). Unmotivated phraseological units occur when “there is no relation whatsoever between the meaning of the whole combination and those of its components” (Cowie, 2001, p. 214), and partially motivated, or partially non-motivated, phraseological units are the ones “whose sense could be perceived as a metaphorical or metonymic extension of the whole expression” (Ginzburg et al., 1979, p.75). Examples of unmotivated PUs are a skeleton in the cupboard/closet and smell a rat.

The stability of phraseological units can be observed when the structure of some phraseological units is stable lexically and grammatically. Words within some PUs cannot be changed or replaced. Most of the scholars agree that phraseological units are grammatically and lexically fixed. If the word-combination kick the bucket is used in its direct meaning, gathered from the meanings of its constituents, the word bucket may be changed, if necessary, or may be substituted for/by any other object, e.g., ball, stool, or whatever is kicked at the moment; however, when kick the bucket is used in its transferred meaning, we cannot make such substitutions. Any change within a PU will destroy its meaning because the meaning of a PU cannot be gathered from the meanings of its components.

There are some grammatical restrictions as well; for example, the components of PUs cannot be changed, e.g., kick the bucket cannot be changed to kick the buckets. We have an ear for something, but not have ears for something, and equally there is no play the fields, put on good faces, and blow one's tops. Adjectives do not have comparative and superlative degrees in phraseological units, e.g., a high roller cannot have the forms higher roller or the highest roller; equally a new broom cannot be newer broom or the newest broom.

Phraseological units may have syntactic restrictions; for example, some of them cannot employ the passive voice. The PU meet/see somebody in the flesh does not have passive voice; somebody is met/seen in the flesh sounds strange. The order of words stays stable within a PU, and it has grammatical restrictions, as we discussed earlier. Some examples are clear sailing, dead to the world, in mint condition, and in cold blood.

The next characteristic is separability. Some phraseological units are separable, which means words may be placed between their components. Some dictionaries of idioms mark separable idioms. The symbol (S) indicates that an idiom is separable. A few examples are spring something on someone and squirrel something away.

Some phraseological units may be characterized by lexical and grammatical variability. They may have variable components within their structure. Some examples are (as) hungry as a bear, (as) hungry as a hunter, and (as) hungry as a hawk; steal the spotlight and steal the show; stick by someone or something and stick with someone or something; strike a happy medium, hit a happy medium, and find a happy medium; sweep something under the carpet and sweep something under the rug; swim against the tide and swim against the current; make hamburger out of someone or something and make mincemeat out of someone or something; take a try at something, take a shot at something, take a stab at something, and take a whack at something, and other PUs. Richard Spears believes that “the number of idiomatic expressions that are totally invariant is really quite small, even when the English proverbs are included in this category” (2000).

As for expressivity and emotiveness, Arsentieva believes that “[Phraseological units] are characterized by stylistic coloring. In other words, they evoke emotions or add expressiveness” (2004, p.4). The following PUs expressing the meaning of ‘die’ may evoke different feelings: buy the farm/lot/ plot is an ironic use for ‘die’ which means to die in battle or in a plane crash. Cash in one’s chips and meet one’s maker is used in a neutral meaning, while join the angels, go to glory, go to one's reward may be used in a poetic style. The following PUs are used to express negative emotions: lick /bite the dust and kick the bucket, e.g., They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him and his enemies shall lick the dust (Psalms 72, King James Version, 1611). Eighteenth-century Scottish author Tobias Smollett uses bite the dust in its negative meaning in his Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane: “We made two of them bite the dust, and the others betake themselves to flight.” Even the PUs which have neutral meanings are still expressive idioms.