There’s one benefit about being in this community of book lovers and writers – when I get stumped by a language question, I know where to turn!
I need to know what a phrase like “figment of the imagination” is called.
It’s not a cliché, I know, but is there a word(s) that describes such a phrase?
And, for all you book lovers out there, would anyone know if there’s a book out there that collects all these kinds of phrases, a compendium of sorts?
Update: Thanks to comments so far and Twitter, I think I might be looking for collections of idioms, colloquialisms or figures of speech. Your suggestions on any good books that are collections of any of these would be very much appreciated!
Related posts:
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Some call it a colloquialism. You can google it as a “Quote” or quotation. I am not sure there is one specific thing it is called. Maybe someone else has the exact answer.
Thanks, Rebecca. I think that’s what it is – colloquialism. Now to hunt down some books that gather them all together!
Well, Amazon (for instance) has pages of books on colloquialisms, of all sorts, too.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=colloquialisms
.-= Heather´s last blog ..New authors, old series =-.
Heather, this is perfect – thank you!
I believe most sources refer to this as an idiom.
.-= rhapsodyinbooks´s last blog ..Revisiting “A Dog About Town” by J.F. Englert and Giveaway =-.
I was all excited to share a wonderful book with you, but realized “figment of your imagination” isn’t in there! So much for a full collection of such phrases.
Anyway, “I Didn’t Know That” by Karlen Evins is a fun little read. It has tons of common (and some not so common) words, phrases and expressions along with their origins.
The subtitle is “From ‘Ants in the Pants to Wet Behind the Ears’ the Unusual Origins of the Things We Say.”
.-= Cat Woods´s last blog ..Don’t Step Away from the Keyboard =-.
Thanks for the recommendation, Cat! My library doesn’t have this title, but I think I’ll add it to my next online book shopping spree!
The term I would use in my classes is definitely an idiom.
I often google them when I want to be absolutely certain I have understood them correctly.
Two online sources are http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ and http://www.answers.com/
.-= Dorte H´s last blog ..DJ´s Bait in the Box # 37 =-.
Thanks for the links, Dorte. These idioms and colloquialisms are proving to be really fun things.
Yes I believe that’s generally called an idiom.
Nice cheerleading! I keep seeing you in the blogs I visited
.-= Mark David´s last blog ..Back in Time =-.
{ 1 trackback }