Lexicology

Lexicology as a linguistic discipline.

Lexicography.

Autumn 2021
 Lexicology as a linguistic discipline

• System of language

Grammar

Morphology Syntax

Morphosemantics

Lexis Semantics

Physical realisation

Phonology Graphetics
 Lexicology as a linguistic discipline

• The central problem of • Lingual stylisation -

lexicology (the whenever a member of a
language community
onomatological
delivers an utterance.
problem) – naming
• 2 stages:
facts of the extra-
• functional onomatology -
linguistic reality which the process of naming
surround the speakers • functional syntax -
of the given community organisation of the names
of language. established during the first
stage into larger wholes
(clauses and sentences)
• (Mathesius 1975)
 Lexicology - definition

• Lexicology is the • Tasks of lexicology: study of

semantic or • the words in a language,
morphological study of • their meaning and use,
the linguistic stock of a • their derivation and history
language, particularly as • their mutual relationships.
to content, meaning or • regularities in vocabulary
use of the individual → establishing its structure,
forms. lexis as a system.
 Lexicology in the Anglophone linguistics
• Lexicology, lexical semantics and word-formation are usually considered as
independent disciplines.
• The term lexicology is rarely used.
• Recently, lexicology covers lexical semantics (e.g. Cruse 1986) and word-
formation (e.g. Jackson and Zé Amvela 2007), or at least relies on
semantics and morphology.
• Etymology (history of word-stock) – part of lexicology.
• Traditionally, lexicography (“applied lexicology“) was included in
lexicology; word-formation has recently been studied as a separate
discipline.
• Semiotics, semantics, phraseology, pragmatics – usually separate.
• Onomastics and onomasiology – part of l. in Central European tradition.
 Lexicography

• Lexicography - the listing and describing of the

words or morphemes of a language, particularly
from the standpoint of meaning, with the
possible addition of derivation and history.
• Lexicography is descriptive; it is registration of
the units of the vocabulary of the given language
according to some fixed principle (formal -
alphabetical order; content-bound - according to
the semantic relationship − dictionaries of ideas).
• (Mario Pei, quoted by Vachek 1974).
 Study of words

• Approaches to the study of word-stock:

• synchronic vs. diachronic

• Approaches to the study of words:

• semasiological (from FORM to MEANING) – What is the meaning of the
word XXX?
• Typical of dictionaries, static. Definitions.

• onomasiological (from MEANING to FORM) – What is the name of the

concept YYY?
• Typical of thesauruses, language acquisition.
 Lexicology
Naming, motivation, types and properties of
linguistic signs, meaning vs. form

Autumn 2021
 Naming, motivation, linguistic signs, meaning vs. form

• A linguistic sign has two components:

form/signifier/sound image (Fr. signifiant, Cz.
označující, Lat. designans) and
meaning/signified/concept (Fr. signifié, Cz.
označované, Lat. designatum).
• Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913)
• Originally: acoustic image vs. concept.
• The relationship between the form and meaning is
not conditioned by the properties of the item of the
extra-linguistic reality referred to by the sign (i.e. the
naming unit). The relationship is conventional,
unmotivated.
 Naming, motivation, linguistic signs, meaning vs. form

Czech Russian English German French Spanish Hungarian Turkish

dům dom house Haus maison casa ház ev
pes sobáka dog Hund chien perro kutya köpek
kůň lóšaď horse Pferd cheval caballo ló at
dva/dvě dva/dve two Zwei deux dos kettö iki
velký bolšój big/large gross grand grande nagy büyük
černý čërnyj black schwarz noir negro fekete kara
zlato zóloto gold gold or oro arany altin
 Naming, motivation, linguistic signs, meaning vs. form

• Motivated naming units − onomatopoeic

expressions. Such words (as a linguistic sign) are
iconic.
• Verbs imitating the noises produced by animals are often onomatopoeic:
• cows moo/low (interjection moo) (Cz. bučet, bú),
• cats miaow/AmE meow (interj. miaow/AmE meow) (Cz. mňoukat, mňau)
• sheep bleat (interj. baa) (Cz. bečet, bé)
• crows caw/croak
• ducks quack
• snakes hiss
• bears growl
• birds twitter/chirp/chirrup (Cz. cvrlikat/švitořit)
 Naming, motivation, linguistic signs, meaning vs. form

• Sound associations are elicited e.g. by the following

combinations of letters:
• cl- ( a sharp and/or metallic sound; e.g. in the verbs
click, clang, clank, clash, clap)
• sp- ( movement of liquids or powders; e.g. in the
verbs splash, spit, spray, sprinkle, spurt, etc.)
• wh- ( movement of air; e.g. verbs whistle, whirr,
whizz, wheeze, whip).
• (Cf. McCarthy and O´Dell, English Vocabulary in Use (upper-intermediate 
advanced), CUP 1994, pp. 34-35).
 Naming, motivation, linguistic signs, meaning vs. form

• Sound symbolism (phonaesthetic words) is a

phenomenon distinct from onomatopoeia: the
phonetic sequence is not based on auditory
resemblance.
• Certain (combinations of) sounds manifest a
meaning, they are capable of eliciting semantic
traits, but by far not in all such occurrences (sl- in
sleazy, slimy, sloppy, slither, slovenly, slut, etc.; gl- in
glow, glimmer, gleam, glisten, glare, glitter, etc.).
• (Cruse, D.A., Lexical Semantics (CUP 1986, 1991), pp. 34-35)
 Semiotic triangle

• Charles K. Ogden and Ivor A. Richards (1923).

• The symbol symbolises the meaning (causal relationship).
• The meaning refers to the referent (causal relationship).
• No direct relationship between the symbol and the referent, it is indirect
and mediated by the thought/concept/sense.

Thought/concept
/meaning/sense

Symbol/form Referent/object
 Naming, motivation, linguistic signs, meaning vs. form

• Types of (linguistic) sign (according to Ch. S. Peirce)

• icon: based on factual similarity between the signifier (form)
and the signified concept (meaning) (e.g. photograph,
pictogram, map);
• index: based on factual (usually causal) relationship between
the signifier and the signified concept (e.g. deixis, anaphora,
symptoms: high temperature → illness; indicators: low sales
figures → economic problems);
• symbol: based on learned conventional relationship (majority
of linguistic signs belong to this type).
 Naming, motivation, linguistic signs, meaning vs. form

• Properties of a linguistic sign:

• arbitrariness/conventionality: no connection between the sign (form) and
concept/object referred to (with the exception of onomatopoeic
expressions)
• discreteness and linearity: a sign has a firm shape (as to its articulation or
graphic realisation) and linear form (with a beginning and an end);
• duality: there is a dual articulation in a language: utterance is broken
down into signs (level of grammar and semantics), signs can be analysable
into figures (level of phonology), which are capable of forming signs by
combining;
• semanticity: a sign is always connected with a meaning or function;
 Naming, motivation, linguistic signs, meaning vs. form

• Properties of a linguistic sign (continued)

• universality: there cannot be a special form/word for every item of the
extralinguistic reality; some level of abstraction is needed; economy of
naming;
• stability: signs are relatively stable and permanent so that they are the
same (synchronically) for all users;
• transferability (geographic and temporal) / displacement: a message can
be communicated over a distance in place (phone, radio/TV broadcasting,
mail, etc.) and time (book, audio/video recording, inscription, etc.);
• cultural transferability: signs can be learnt and passed from one culture to
another;
• opposition and distinctiveness: no sign is isolated, each sign stands in
some type of relation to other signs (it differs from and is not identical
with them).
• (Čermák, F., Jazyk a jazykověda (Praha: Karolinum, 2001), pp. 22-24)
Types of
meaning
 Meaning

- Reference is the relationship between

linguistic signs and entities in the
world (= objects in the extralinguistic
reality).
- Denotation is the objective
relationship between a linguistic sign
and the reality (= dictionary
definition).
- Connotation is the user‘s real-world
experience associated with a lexeme.
 Types of meaning

- Semantic nucleus (=
denotative/cognitive/conceptual/referential/b
asic meaning/sense):
– abstract and stable semantic minimum of a
naming unit;
– objective (dictionary) relationship between a
naming unit and the reality
(= denotation).
 Types of meaning

- Associative meaning is divided into:

• connotative meaning
• stylistic meaning
• affective/expressive/emotive meaning
• reflected meaning
• collocative/contextual meaning
 Types of meaning

Connotative meaning:
- the personal or emotional associations which are
aroused by words;
- the real-word experience associated with them;
- connotations are determined from a speaker to a
speaker, from a society to a society etc.
- Connotative meaning is the basis of comparison
such as as wise as an owl and to be light-hearted.
 Types of meaning

Stylistic meaning:
- the meaning communicated by the position of a naming unit in various stylistic
strata of a language
- situational variation determined by the attitude between interlocutors (tenor: formal –
informal - taboo),
- temporal strata (old-fashioned - fashionable words),
- field-of-activity strata (literary, political, economic etc.);

- example: domicile (very formal), residence (formal), abode (humorous or

official), home (neutral).
 Types of meaning

Affective/expressive/emotive meaning:
- the meaning is reflecting the personal attitude of the speaker/writer to the
message and to his hearer/leader;
- often conveyed by conceptual, connotative or stylistic meaning;
- intonation is important, too.
- Similar requests which difffer in the scale of politeness:
a) I wonder if you would be so kind as to lower your voice a little.
b) Shut up!
 Types of meaning

Reflected meaning:
− a minor type of meaning occurring often when a word has several
senses (multiple conceptual meaning);
− may be a source of puns and is used in verbal or lexical humour,
advertising slogans, etc.
 Types of meaning

Collocative/contextual meaning:
− the associations aroused by the
meaning of words often collocating
with the given naming unit;

− for example, pretty collocates with

woman, flower or picture…
 Sources

- HLADKÝ, Josef, RŮŽIČKA, Milan. A Functional

Onomatology of English. Brno: Masarykova univerzita
1998. ISBN 80-210-1887-9.
- JACKSON, Howard, ZÉ AMVELA, Etienne
(Eds.). Words, Meaning and Vocabulary: An introduction
to modern English lexicology. 2nd edition. New York:
Continuum. ISBN 0826490182.
- VOGEL, Radek. Basics of Lexicology. 2nd edition.
Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2020. ISBN 978-80-
210-7154-4.
 Pictures

- https://www.deviantart.com/playfielder/art/A-Pretty-Flower-
106848313
- https://www.eonline.com/news/1133589/it-d-be-a-big-mistake-to-
not-check-out-these-30-pretty-woman-secrets-huge
- https://languagesandstuff.wordpress.com/2014/02/03/as-wise-as-an-
owl/
- https://www.mlldesignlab.com/blog/architecture-experience-
meaning-uplift-design-quality
- https://englishinspirationblog.wordpress.com/2018/10/23/denotation
-and-connotation/
Thank you for
your attention
change of Pavlina
Jobánková
meaning
What is change of meaning (=
semantic change)?

=semantic =any change in

shift, lexical the meaning(s) of
change, semantic a word over the
progression course of time
 1. Widening/Extension
2. Narrowing (specialisation,
restriction)
TYPES OF 3. Elevation /Amelioration
4. Degeneration / Pejoration
SEMANTIC 5. Metaphor
CHANGE 6. Metonymy
7. Synecdoche
8. Taboo
 1. Widening/Extension

• range of meanings of a word increases so that the

word can be used in more contexts than were
appropriate before the change
• dog =>1) specific powerful breed of dog => all
breeds or races of dog
• cupboard => 1) table upon which cups or
vessels were placed, a piece of furniture to
display plates => closet or cabin with shelves
for the keeping cups and dishes =>AE: small
storage cabinet
 2. Narrowing (specialisation,
restriction)
• range of meaning is decreased so that a word
can be used appropriately only in fewer
contexts than before the change
• meat => 'food' in general ;
• hound => OE hund 'dog in general' =>
species of dog (long eared hunting dog) ;
• wife => OE 'woman' =>'woman of humble
rank or low employment' => 'married
woman, spouse'
• girl => ME 'child or young person of either
 3. Elevation /Amelioration

• shifts in the sense of a word in the direction

towards a more positive value in the minds of
the users
• knight - 'mounted warrior serving a king'
'lesser nobility' < OE cniht 'boy, servant'
>'servant' > 'military servant';
• marshall - person taking care of horses-
high military officer
• revolutionary - associeted with violence -
change
 4. Degeneration / Pejoration

• sense of a word takes on a less positive, more

negative evaluation in the minds of the users
• spinster 'one who spins' => 'unmarried
woman‘
• silly sælig ''blessed, blissful
=>ME sely 'happy, innocent => ''foolish,
stupid'
• disease 'discomfort' (cf. dis+ease)
=> 'illness'
• villain “serf“ (nevolník) => villain means a
 5. Metaphor

• involves relationship of perceived similarity

• root (of plant) => > root of plant, root of
word, root in algebra, source
• stud => 'good-looking sexy man '(of slang
origin) derived from stud 'a male animal
used for breeding
• chill => "relax, calm down' of slang origin,
original 'to cool‘
• hawk, dove => war supporters and dove for
its oponents: from the combative nature of
 6. Metonymy

• inclusion of additional senses which were

originally not present but which are closely
associated with word's original meaning
• tea => 'drink' => 'evening meal
accompanied by drinking tea';
• cheek 'fleshy side of the face below the
eye' < OE: cēace ' jaw, jawbone'
 7. Synecdoche

• kind of metonymy, involves part-to-whole

relationship
• hand 'hired hand, employed worker';
• tongue 'language'
 8. Taboo

• replacement and avoidance of obscenity

• ass 'long-eared animal related to a horse'
=> donkey;
• cock 'adult male chicken' => rooster,
• bloody nose => blood nose/bleeding nose
• toilet WC, bathroom, lavatory, restroom,
loo, john
 Sources:
• What Is Semantic Change in English
Grammar? By Richard Nordquist
https://www.thoughtco.com/semantic-
change-words-1692078
• https://homepage.ruhr-uni-
bochum.de/silke.hoeche/Aspects%20of%20La
nguage%20Change/types_of_semantic_chang
e.htm
• Lexicology material, seminar 2- Meaning, Mgr.
Radek Vogel, Ph.D.
Thank you for
your attention
 Lexicology

Structure of lexis, paradigmatic vs.

syntagmatic relations

Autumn 2021
 Structure of lexis, paradigmatic vs. syntagmatic relations

• Lexis is an open and dynamic system.

• Core and periphery of word-stock.
• Lexis/lexicon is studied as a system – every word has some
relations to other words, no word is in isolation.
• Synonymy, oppositeness/antonymy, polysemy, homonymy,
hyponymy – paradigmatic relations.
• Collocations and syntagmas – syntagmatic relations.
 Structure of lexis, paradigmatic vs. syntagmatic relations

• Paradigmatic relations • Syntagmatic relations

• Substitutional; choices of Combinatorial; based on
words that fit in a particular linear organisation of words
slot. in
• He/She/Susie phrases/clauses/sentences.
can/may/would/will • He will help you.
help/inform/tell • She may inform him.
you/him/her/Annie. • NOT: *Will help you he.
 Structure of lexis, paradigmatic vs. syntagmatic relations

• Open classes − new lexical • Closed classes − new lexical

items can be and are being items are not added; mostly
easily added (by derivation, grammatical (function)
compounding, conversion, words belong to this
semantic shift, etc.): nouns, category: pronouns,
adjectives, verbs, adverbs prepositions, conjunctions,
(derived or compounded); determiners, auxiliary
• Also called lexical verbs, simple adverbs;
/content/full/autosemantic • Also called
words • grammatical/function
/form/synsemantic words.
 Conceptions of a word

• variable (goes / went /

• phonological word
going…) x invariable
(made up of
phonemes/sounds) words (but, any, information)
• ortographic word (made • primary (=
up of graphemes/letters) monomorphematic) x
• dictionary word (= secondary (= complex) w.
lexeme) • actual vs. potential w.
• grammatical word (= • native/domestic x
word-form) foreign/borrowed/loan
• (Matthews 1974) words.
• (Bednárová-Gibová 2018)
 Word-formation
Derivation, Conversion
Author: Michal Bednář
UČO: 482046
Subject: AJ4201 Lexicology
Teacher: Mgr. Radek Vogel, Ph.D.
 Derivation
• Combination of at least one free morpheme
and at least one bound morpheme whose
function is not inflectional (-ed, -s)
– Unhappy, happiness
– Density, electricity, audacity, monstrosity
– Establishment, disestablishment
• Affixation
– Distinguishing derivational morphemes with
regard to their position in the word
– Prefixes, suffixes, infixes
• Prefix
– Derivational morpheme precedes the base (root)
– Most prefixes preserve word-class
• Happy/unhappy = adjective
• Establishment/disestablishment = noun
– Negative prefixes (non-, in-, im-, un- (the opposite of/not), dis-, a- (lacking
in))
– Reversative (Privative) prefixes (un- (to reverse action), de-, dis-)
– Pejorative prefixes (= pejorativní (vyjadřující záporný vztah), mis-, mal-,
pseudo-)
– Prefixes of Degree or Size (arch-, super-, out-, sur-, sub-, over-, under-, hyper-
, mini-…)
– Prefixes of attitude (co-, counter-, anti-, pro-)
– Locative prefixes (super-, sub-, inter-, trans-)
– Prefixes of Time and Order (fore-, pre-, post-, ex-, re-)
– Number Prefixes (uni-, mono-, bi-, di-, tri-, multi-, poly-)
– Conversion (ability to change word-class, be-, en-, a-)
• Suffix
– …follows the base (root)
– …change the word-class
• Happy → happiness (adjective → noun)
• Noun suffixes
– -age (storage), -ance/-ence (intelligence), -cy (efficiency), -dom, -ness…)
• Adjective suffixes
– -able/-ible, -al (brutal), -ese (Japanese), -ic, -i, -ive, -ish, -less, -y…)
• Adverb suffixes
– -ly (rapidly), -ward (backward), -wise (clockwise)
• Verb suffixes
– -ate (communicate), -en (shorten), -ify (purify), -ise/-ize (modernise/ze)
• Infix
• Placing of a suffix inside the base (largely
restricted to swearing)
– Absolutely → Abso-bloody-lutely
– Fantastic → Fan-*ucki**-tastic
 English derivation
• Dissociation (unlike Czech)
– Words related by meaning are not derived from
the same basic word but from different ones
• Eye – ocular
• Sun – solar
• Consociation (like Czech)
– Semantically related naming units are derived
from the same word
• Found – founder – foundation
• Work – worker – workplace
 Conversion (zero-derivation)
• Creation of a new word without any formal or external change of the base
• The most frequent lexical items created by conversion are nouns (especially
deverbal ones), verbs (denominal ones), and adjectives
• Noun to verb
– Bottle → to bottle / Carpet → to carpet / salt → to salt / can → to can
– Partition → to partition (You can get a spare room if you partition the bigger
room)
• Verb to Noun
– To alert → alert / to attack → attack / to cry → cry, / to hope → hope
• Adjective to Noun (heavy → a heavy (pair of heavies (guards))
– Classic, intellectual, criminal
• Preposition to Verb (up → to up)
• Adjective to Verb (narrow → to narrow)
• Preposition to Noun (up → up (ups and downs))
• Grammatical word (closed-class words) → verb
– Adverb to verb
• Down → to down (to down tools),
• Grammatical word → noun
– I hate his buts. It explores the whys and wherefores….)
• Pronunciation!!! (stress from 1st syllable to 2nd)
– Object → to object
– Record → to record
– Import → to import
• Nouns ends with voiceless consonant X verbs with voiced cons.
– To believe → belief
– To prove → proof
 Sources
• MAIR, Christian. English Linguistics: An Introduction. 3rd edition. Tübingen:
Narr Dr. Gunter, 2015.
• VOGEL, Radek. Basics of Lexicology. 2nd edition. Brno: Masarykova
univerzita, 2020.
• CLARIA, Dewa. The analysis of forms and meanings of prefixes found in Bali
advertiser. KULTURISTIK: Jurnal Bahasa dan Budaya, 2017.
• https://blog.allaboutlearningpress.com/suffixes/
• https://blog.allaboutlearningpress.com/prefixes/
• https://nool.ontariotechu.ca/writing/english-language-
resources/grammar/incorrect-prefixes-and-suffixes.php
• https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/suffixes
• https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/prefixes
• https://www.brighthubeducation.com/esl-lesson-plans/59339-teaching-
word-formation-conversion/#noun-to-verb-conversion
 WORD FORMATION

ABBREVIATION AND REDUPLICATION

Krotilová Tereza
 1 Abbreviation
• Shortening of naming units
• Contributes to economy of language
• 3 main types:
A. Clipping (reduction)
B. Acronyms
C. Blends
 1.A Clipping
• New item produced by shortening
polysyllabic words
• Clippings preserve:
A. Initial part = mathematics ->
math, gasoline -> gas
B. Central part = influenza -> flu
C. Final part = alligator -> gator,
racoon -> coon, telephone -> phone
• Morphological adaptation by adding
 1.B Acronyms
• Words formed from the initial letters of
words in a naming unit or of bases in a
compound word = television –> TV,
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome -
> AIDS
• 2 subtypes:
A. Acronyms pronounced as words
= ASAP (as soon as possible), PIN
(personal identification number)
 1.C Blends
• Compound resulting from a fusion of 2
elements which are still recognisable
• Meaning of the new item is a
combination of the 2 originals
– Breakfast + lunch -> brunch
– Motor + hotel -> motel
– Smoke + fog -> smog
– Web + seminar -> webinar
– Czech + English -> Czenglish
 2 Reduplication
• Minor word-formation process
• Elements are equal in status and often
synonymous
• Types of reduplication:
A. Repetitive = tick tick (clock), Blah-
blah, bling-bling, knock-knock
B. Repetitive with extension = clickety-
click (train), cloppety –clop (clogs)
C. Non-repetitive = most common, 2
Idioms and set phrases

Nikola Macháňová, 470894

 What is an idiom?
• a group of words in a fixed order that have a particular meaning that is different from
the meanings of each word on its own

• an expression in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either in having a meaning that
cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements (such as up in the air for
"undecided") or in its grammatically atypical use of words (such as give way)
 Free combinations x
collocations x Idioms x
•
proverbs
Free combinations of words = words are combined freely to create a new meaning

• Collocations = words that often go together

– heavy smoker

• Proverbs = special, fixed, unchanged phrases, which differ from idioms in that they display shared cultural
wisdom
– do not count your chickens before they have hatched

• Idioms = a kind of lexical unit in which the whole meaning of the expression is not apparent from the
meanings of its components
• break even
 degree of idiomacity Idioms – continuum from transparent to opaque

• Transparent Idioms - have a very close meaning to that of the literal one
• to see the light = to understand

• Semi-Transparent Idioms - usually carry a metaphorical sense that could not be known only through common use
• break the ice = relieve the tension

• Semi-Opaque Idioms - the figurative meaning is not joined to that of the constituent words of the idiom
• know the ropes = to know how a particular job should be done
• to pass the buck = to pass responsibility
• Opaque Idioms - the meaning of the idiom is never that of the sum of the literal meanings of its parts
• To burn one’s boat = to make retreat impossible.
• Kick the bucket = to die
• Spill the beans = reveal a secret
 typology of idioms based on their degree of compositionality

• Non-compositional idioms - there is no relation between the idiom’s constituents and

the idiom’s meaning
• Spill the beans

• Partially compositional idioms - there is some relation between the constituents and the
meaning of an idiom
• To kick the bucket

• Fully compositional idioms - the constituents refer directly to the idiomatic meaning
• pop the question
 Distinction of idioms according to
fernando

• pure idioms - a type of conventionalized, non-literal multiword expression whose meaning

cannot be understood by adding up the meanings of the words that make up the phrase
» spill the beans

• semi-idioms - have at least one literal element and one with a non-literal meaning
» foot the bill

• literal idioms - semantically less complex than the other two, and therefore easier to
understand
» on foot, on the contrary
 Examples of idioms
Idiom
Definition/Translation Idiom Definition/Translation
A controversial issue or once in a blue moon Occurring very rarely.
a hot potato situation that is awkward or A job, task or other activity that is
unpleasant to deal with piece of cake pleasant – or, by extension, easy or
barking up the wrong tree Looking in the wrong place. simple.
A situation or activity that is pull somebody's leg To tease or joke by telling a lie.
bed of roses
comfortable or easy. raining cats and dogs Raining very hard or strongly.
A euphemism for dying or To do or say something that will upset
bought the farm rock the boat
death. people or cause problems.
A saying from the theatre that sleep with the fishes A euphemism for dying or death.
break a leg
means "good luck". spill the beans To reveal someone's secret.
call it a day To declare the end of a task. To betray or sacrifice someone for
let the cat out of the bag To reveal a secret throw under the bus
selfish reasons.

Phrasal verbs

- After war began, the two countries broke off diplomatic relations (discontinue).
- Most automobile companies bring out new modals each year (to show or introduce).
 Sources

• “Idiom.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idiom. Accessed 5 Jan.

2021.
• “Idiom.“ Cambridge Dictionary, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/idiom
• Leah, Claudia. “Idioms-Grammaticality and Figurativeness”. Retrieved on January 04, 2020 from: http://www,pdfdrive,net/claudia-
leahidioms- grammaticality-andfigurativeness-e1014648,html.
• NĚMCOVÁ, Martina. Comparative Analysis of English and French Body Idioms [online]. Brno, 2013 [cit. 2021-01-06]. Dostupné z:
<https://theses.cz/id/ki8610/>. Diplomová práce. Masarykova univerzita, Pedagogická fakulta. Vedoucí práce Mgr. Radek Vogel,
Ph.D..
• Cacciari, Cristina & Glucksberg, Sam. (1991). Chapter 9 Understanding Idiomatic Expressions: The Contribution of Word Meanings.
Advances in Psychology. 77. 10.1016/S0166-4115(08)61535-6.
• ELŠÍK, Petr, Miroslava WEBEROVÁ a Stanislav J. KAVKA. Module 1B - idiomaticity and style in English language teaching:
[studijní materiály pro distanční Jazykově-metodický kurz angličtiny pro učitele středních škol]. Ostrava: Ostravská univerzita, 2004.
Systém celoživotního vzdělávání Moravskoslezska. ISBN 80-7042-973-9.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English- language_idioms