Fixed expressions in English:

reference books and the teacher

Richard J. Alexander

A brief discussion of the need to focus on fixed expressions in English is

followed by a summary analysis of the types to be found. Thirteen
dictionaries and reference works are inspected to ascertain their
coverage of fixed expressions. An annotated bibliography assesses the
utility of selected reference works for both teacher and learner.

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Introduction Teachers and learners of English are being bombarded by an ever larger
number of books, dictionaries, and reference works which purport to be of
help in the teaching and learning of 'idioms' in English. It has hitherto
been one of the major deficits of both linguistics and applied linguistics
that vocabulary learning has tended to be viewed as an insignificant part of
the process of foreign language learning. But, particularly at the advanced
level, most teachers are aware of the kinds of learning problems their
students are confronted with; they know that vocabulary plays an impor-
tant part in the process. What is needed is a principled approach to
vocabulary learning in general and to die analysis in linguistic terms of the
lexis of a language. One area where this can be started is that of fixed
expressions in English. The first section of this article addresses itself to the
general issues involved. In die second section the various types of fixed
expressions in English are discussed. The diird section adopts a practical
approach and illustrates by means of a spot check what kind of coverage of
fixed expressions the teacher and die learner can expect to find in reference
works of English. The article closes widi an annotated bibliography in
which dictionaries and odier reference works are examined widi a view to
helping the teacher in his or her teaching of vocabulary in general and
fixed expressions in particular.

Vocabulary learning, Recently, among applied linguists and language teachers, diere has been a
phraseology, and the quickening of interest in vocabulary learning and teaching (see Alexander
advanced learner 1982c, Rivers 1981, and, especially, Meara 1980 and 1983 for a survey of
the area). At die same time, we find attention being directed at a hitilerto
neglected area of linguistic analysis, namely die subset of lexicology we
might term 'phraseology'. A range of topics widiin diis area has been
treated: I have discussed fixed expressions in general (1978/79), Fillmore
(1978) refers to the 'phrasicon', Makkai (1972) was a pioneer of die
linguistic study of idioms, Fernando and Flavell (1981) have taken a recent
look at die concept of idiom, while Luelsdorff (1981) investigates cliches,
Mackin (1978) collocations, and Norrick (1981) proverbs.
When one attempts to assess die implications of diis work for second
language (L2) learning, in particular die learning and teaching of English
as a foreign language, one is impressed by die close meshing of knowledge
of language widi knowledge of culture.1 And consequendy one also
becomes aware of die problems involved in finding a principled approach
towards die teaching of diis 'fuzzy' area.

ELTJournal Volume 38/2 April 1984 127

 Particularly for advanced learners of English, the development of
linguistic competence is largely a question of lexical expansion. I have
suggested that this process is not purely 'lexical': the 'lexicon' proper
interacts with the 'encyclopedia', the stored knowledge, of the L2 learner.
Also, the learning process may benefit if emphasis is placed on the three
'C's of vocabulary learning: collocation, context, and connotation. The
complex connections between words and 'things', and their many ramifica-
tions both on the denotative and on the connotative level need to be
demonstrated to the advanced learner (see Alexander 1982a and 1982c).
The broad category of 'fixed expressions' appears to offer an oppor-
tunity for systematic organization of vocabulary work at university level.
The methods which can be used will not be discussed here; they will vary
according to local conditions and student and teacher expectations. In one
place an informal approach, incorporating word games and puzzles, may

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be preferred. In another institution, one may be expected to proceed in a
more formal manner with vocabulary presentation, vocabulary expansion
exercises, and the like. In yet another, a different approach may be more
appropriate. Whichever approach is adopted, it is essential that teachers
should be aware of sources for their teaching. At the advanced level, it is
also essential that students should be informed about what kind of'service'
they can expect from reference works and dictionaries. The rest of this
article takes the form of a survey of me information provided in such works.
In Alexander (1979) I gave a preliminary survey of reference works, and
discussed the kind of information available in them. Here I shall attempt to
extend the picture. The increase in published works in the area is itself an
indication of the great strides forward which Anglo-American lexicography
has been making in recent years. I shall make no attempt to be exhaustive
here. Instead, some of the more useful works will be selected and discussed
from the point of view of their relevance for the EFL teacher.

Types of fixed As a preliminary step, let us distinguish some of the major types of fixed
expressions surveyed expressions to be found in English. I have distinguished five broad
categories of fixed expressions, ranging from lexically oriented idioms and
their many subcategories, through discourse-structuring devices, such as
gambits and proverbs and proverbial idioms, to the more encyclopedia-oriented
expressions such as catchphrases and quotations (cf. Alexander 1979).

Types of fixed As should be clear from Table 1, I have simplified the presentation
expressions and considerably; hence many types of idioms (in 1 and 3) have been omitted.
works of reference In order to check the range and coverage of the various works, I shall add
the categories of 'phrasal nouns' or compound nouns, metaphorical,
idioms or allusions, and similes. Examples of phrasal compounds are hot
cakes, redneck, greenback, melting pot, etc. Allusions would include Hollywood,
Big Brother, shipshape and Bristol-fashion, a lounge lizard, etc. Idioms of com-
parison or similes include those like as sober as ajudge, etc.
For.a spot check on the various reference works discussed below, eight
types of fixed expressions were chosen. The list of'tokens' was chosen more
or less at random as items likely to be of difficulty for the German learner
of English. The spot check consisted of looking up the twenty items
('tokens') listed in Table 2 in dictionaries or reference works. (The full list
of works consulted appears in the Annotated Bibliography.) The sampling
procedure adopted was rough and ready and will perhaps appear rather
arbitrary. My only defence is to stress that vocabulary work proceeds very

128 Richard Alexander

Table 1: Types of fixed expressions in English

Types of fixed expressions Examples

1 Idioms
1.1 Phrasal verbs to give away
1.2 Tournures' to kick the bucket
to put the cat among the pigeons
1.3 Irreversible binomials cash and carry
uphill and down dale
bag and baggage

2 Discourse-structuring devices
2.1 Greetings, formulae Long time no see!
2.2 Connectives, 'gambits' Fora kick off. ..

3.1 Proverbs You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours,

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3.2 Proverbial (metaphorical) idioms the proof of die pudding

4 Catchphrases What's up doc?

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.
4.1 Cliches when all is said and done
live happily ever after
4.2 Slogans Your country needs you.

5 Quotations, allusions You've never had it so good.

The lady's not for turning.
By the pricking of my thumbs, something
wicked this way comes.
Now what I want is facts.

Table 2: Fixed expressions: tokens selected for spot check

Types offixtd expressions 'Tokens'

I Catchphrases 1 I'm only here for the beer!

Greetings 2 Long time no see!

II Proverbial idioms 3 the Land of Nod

Proverbs 4 It never rains but it pours.

III Tournure idioms 5 buy a pig in a poke

6 smell a rat
7 pull a fast one

IV Irreversible binomial idioms 8 cloak and dagger

('freezes') 9 assault and battery
10. snakes and ladders

V Phrasal compound idioms 11 dead duck

12 red tape

VI Phrasal verb idioms 13 tear off (=rush away)

14 stand down

VII Metaphorical/allusive idioms 15 a dog's breakfast

16 like something the cat's brought in
17 send someone to Coventry
18 Fleet Street

VIII Idiomatic similes 19 as thin as a rake

20 as different as chalk from cheese

Fixed expressions in English: reference books and the teacher 129

 much in a hit or miss fashion, as most teachers will probably agree. Even
when one attempts to inject 'systematic' components into it, there is
inevitably a marginal area which one has overlooked, or students will want
to know more about. Semantic space still remains relatively badly
charted—lexically speaking, that is. Working with dictionaries and other
works of reference, one similarly proceeds in a rather random fashion.
Teachers may demonstrate the many useful aspects of dictionaries to their
students, only to find classroom pressures forcing them to think on their
feet and to come up with 'off the cuff' or 'rule of thumb' definitions.
The point of the survey is to provide orientation. One cannot be
dogmatic about reference works. Some learners are 'dictionary worms';
others (perhaps die majority) only use bilingual dictionaries, for example,
when forced to do translations. All too few are aware of die learning
resources diat monolingual reference works and dictionaries offer die

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language student who is working alone. Questions of learning styles and
learner types clearly enter into die equation. But having said all this, even if
teachers hate using dictionaries themselves, diey should be able to point
students in die direction of sources diey might profitably use. So die survey
looks at die following categories of publication:
a. die general learning dictionary: Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of
Current English and Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English;
b. a desk dictionary of English: Collins Dictionary of the English Language;
c. general idiom dictionaries and reference works: Dictionary of English
Colloquial Idioms, Longman Dictionary of English Idioms, English Idioms and
How to Use Them;
d. specialized dictionaries (e.g. on phrasal verbs, etc.): Oxford Dictionary of
Current Idiomatic English, Dictionary of English Phrasal Verbs and Their Idioms,
English Prepositional Idioms, English Proverbs Explained, A Dictionary of
Catch Phrases;
e. a crossword dicdonary: The Modem Crossword Dictionary;
f. a thesaurus for die learner: Longman Lexicon of Contemporary English.
Aldiough die boundaries between diese categories are not always sharp,
diey remain useful for orientation.
Table 3 gives a summary of those items in die spot check for which diere
are entries, and indicates in which dictionaries or reference works diey were
found. The entries, of course, differ, depending on die type of publication.
In die dictionaries, all entries, except die cross-references, usually give a
gloss or definition of die meaning of the fixed expression in question. The
Modern Crossword Dictionary, however, simply lists die items according to die
number of letters diey possess; diis book was included in die spot check as
it provides an interesting 'barometer' of die degree of fixedness, and die
culturo-linguistic relevance of fixed expressions.
Clearly a quantitative survey of diis kind does not say very much about
die reference works. The most one can say in general terms is diat, as one
might expect, the more 'specialized' die dictionary (e.g. ODCIE), die fewer
items it will have, if at all, which fall outside its specialized scope. On this
reckoning, then, one might argue diat the more general a dictionary, die
more useful it appears to be for die student. Certainly die two rival
learners' dictionaries—OALDCE and LDOCE—compare well, widi the
former having die edge, at least in terms of die spot check undertaken. For
die teacher who may want die fullest possible coverage, widi good
examples, of die kind of material which he or she can 'mug up' or employ

130 Richard Alexander

Table 3: Results of a spot check of Hems in 13 reference works

O
z
Types of fixed expressions z U UJ
U UJ
UJ Q UJ >
u O Q (J
Q 0 O O
Q
0- UJ 0m

O o Q
J
UJ
tj
_J
J
UJ
Q
Q
O
UJ
Q
Cu
UJ
Cu
ul u
Q
s
I Catchphrases 1 +

2 +

II Proverbial idioms 3 + ++ + +c ++ +

4 ++ + + c+ + + +

III Tournures 5 ++ c+ ++

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6 +c

IV Irreversible binomials

10 + + + +

V Phrasal compounds 11 + c+ +c +

12 ++ c+ + f- + c+ + +

VI Phrasal verbs 13 p ? +

14 i- + + + + +

VII Metaphorical allusive idioms 15 +

16

18

VIII Similes 19 (+)

20 + + + CC+ +

TOTAL Tokens with 1 entry or more 13 12 16 3 10 5 12 9 15 2 0 1 2

TOTAL entries 18 14 21 3 10 7 23 14 15 2 0 1 2

KEY
+ = entry
c = cross- reference (e g. 'See at " . . ." '); only in OALDCE, LDOCE, DECI, and LDOEI.
OALDCE = Oxford Advanced Learner's Diaionary of Current English
LDOCE = Longman Diaionary of Contemporary English
CED = Collins Dictionary of the English Language
LLCE = Longman Lexicon of Contemporary English
MCD =• The Modern Crossword Dictionary
DECI = Diaionary of English Colloquial Idioms
LDOEI = Longman Dictionary of English Idioms
El = English Idioms and How to Use Them EPI = English Prepositional Idioms
ODCIE = Oxford Diaionary of Current Idiomatic English (Vols. 1 and 2) EPE = English Proverbs Explained
DEPV = Diaionary of English Phrasal Verbs and Their Idioms DCP = A Diaionary of Catch Phrases

Fixed expressions in English: reference books and the teacher 131

 in self-written materials, the CED would seem to be the best bet. This is,
however, definitely a 'desk' dictionary. The learners' dictionaries will still
retain their utility as classroom instruments in view of their size and weight.
A welcome addition to the range of tools of the trade when it comes to
idioms is undoubtedly LDOEI. In the annotated bibliography which
follows, comments on each of the books checked, plus some others, are to
be found.

Conclusion The systematic treatment of vocabulary as a component of English

language teaching is coming to be recognized as a worthwhile activity. I
have suggested that die study of phraseology is an area which may serve as
a useful starting point for a principled approach to vocabulary learning
and teaching. There are, to be sure, a number of other avenues which will
also need to be explored. But it is to be hoped that the brief survey of the

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resources available will serve both as an aid and as an incentive to English
teachers to grasp die netde of lexical complexity. D
Received March 1983

Note
1 In Alexander (1980 and 1982b) I singled out the Mackin, R. 1978. 'On collocations: words shall be
area of verbal humour in English as being one in known by the company they keep' in P. D. Strevens
which the language/culture mesh can be profitably (ed.). In Honour of A.S. Hornby. Oxford: Oxford
discussed. University Press.
Makkai, A. 1972. Idiom Structure in English. Mouton:
References The Hague.
Alexander, R. J. 1978/1979. 'Fixed expressions in Meara, P. 1980. 'Vocabulary acquisition: a neglected
English: a linguistic, psycholinguisdc, socio- aspect of language learning'. Language Teaching and
linguistic and didactic study'. Anghstik und Linguistics: Abstracts 13:221^16.
Englischunterricht 6:171-88; 7:181-202. Meara, P. 1983. Vocabulary in a Second Language.
Alexander, R. J. 1980. 'English verbal humour and (Specialized Bibliography 3.) London: CILT.
second language learning'. LAUT Paper, Series B Norrick, N. R. 1981. 'Proverbial linguistics: linguistic
No. 60 (Trier). perspectives on proverbs'. LAUT Paper, Series B No.
Alexander, R. J. 1982a. 'What's in a four-letter word? 69 (Trier).
Word meaning in English and second language Rivers, W. M. 1981. 'Apples of gold in pictures of
learning'. Die Neueren Sprachen 81:219-24. silver: where have all the words gone?' Studia
Alexander, R. J. 1982b. 'Verbal humour: its implica- Lmguistica 35:114-29.
tions for the second language teacher and learner'.
Grazer Lmguistischc Studien 17/18:7-16.
Alexander, R. J. 1982c. 'Vocabulary assimilation and The author
the "advanced learner of English": a brief survey of After reading Modern Languages at Cambridge and
the issues'. Arbeiien aus Anglistik und Amerikaruslik doing the PGCE (EFL) at the Institute of Education,
7:59-75. London University, Richard Alexander taught English
Fernando, C. and R. Flavell. 1981. On ldum. Critical as a Foreign Language and linguistics for fifteen years
Views and Perspectives. Exeter: University of Exeter. to adults and university students in Finland, Italy, and
Fillmore, C. E. 1978. 'On the organization of semantic die Federal Republic of Germany. He is currently
information in the lexicon' in D. Farkas, W. M. Lecturer in English Language at die University of Bir-
Jacobsen, K. W. Todrys (eds.). Papers from the Para- mingham. His research interests include the sotio-
session on the Lexicon. Chicago: Chicago Linguistic cultural aspects of second language learning and
Society, pp. 148-73. problems of vocabulary learning. He is the co-author
LuelsdorfT, P. A. 1981. 'What is a cliche?' LAUT Paper, of a textbook for adult learners of English, On The
Series A No. 85 (Trier). Way, published by Ernst Klett, Stuttgart.

132 Richard Alexander

Appendix
Dictionaries and Reference Works Consulted: An This is an extremely useful book. It provides the
Annotated Bibliography teacher with a rationale for treating idioms.
The works are listed under the following section Categories are made explicit. The odierwise
headings: amorphous field of 'idiomatic phrases' becomes a
1 Learners' dictionaries of English manageable entity, without losing touch with the
2 General dictionary of English practical necessities of the teaching situation. For
3 General idiom dictionaries and reference works the advanced learner, too, this small tome can
4 Specialized dictionaries provide material for intermittent perusal on the bus
5 Miscellaneous dictionaries or train. The many examples provided, for instance,
6 Exercise and practice books. in the five sections that deal with prepositions in
various constructions, certainly allow the book to
1 Learners' dictionaries ofEnglish live up to its subtitle: 'And How to Use Them'. A
Hornby, A. S. (ed.) 1974. Oxford Advanced Learner's must for every English teacher.
Dictionary of Current English. Oxford: Oxford Univer-
sity Press. (OALDCE) Wood, F. T. and R. Hill. 1979. Dictionary of English
Colloquial Idiom. London: Macmillan. (DECl)

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As the spot check shows, this perennial standby of
the English language teacher comes off third best. Despite the fact that this book has been updated and
There is a wealth of information on fixed revised, its usefulness is extremely limited. The term
expressions and idioms, in addition to straight- 'colloquial idioms' in the title has been stretched
forward lexical, grammatical, and phonetic too far, not only to include 'idioms' in the real sense
information between its covers. Students cannot but also to allow the authors to incorporate entries
afford to be without a copy. A must for teachers. which are simply lexical peculiarities of English,
such as 'Guinea pig' and the verb 'to dock' = 'to
Proctor, P. (ed.) 1978. Longman Dictionary of Contem- reduce, esp. money'. Hence the range is uncertain,
porary English. London: Longman (LDOCE) and the student is better advised to use a general
Although this did not fare as well as its older rival in learning dictionary. Teachers might find some of
our spot check, this relative newcomer to the the usage notes of help in their teaching, however.
Learning Dictionary stable has a wide coverage of
fixed expressions and can be of great use to the
learner. It is perhaps worth mentioning that the 4 Specialized dictionaries
exercise book by Janet Whitcut: Learning with Cowie, A. P. and R. Mackin. 1975. Oxford Dictionary
LDOCE (Longman 1979) contains helpful exercises of Current Idiomatic English. Vol. 1: Verbs with
on idioms of comparison and others in Section 6. Prepositions and Particles. Oxford: Oxford University
Press. (ODCIE1)
2 General dictionary of English In my terms a very specialized dictionary ofidioms.
Hanks, P. (ed.). 1979. Collins Dictionary of the English However, unsurpassed so far as its treatment of
Language. London and Glasgow: Collins. (CED) phrasal verbs is concerned. The front matter on
This is included because it is the author's current collocations can be used with advanced learners to
favourite English monolingual dictionary and great benefit. For 'look-up' value, it offers both
because it undoubtedly has the best coverage of teacher and student a wealth of information on
phraseology. This is not hard to believe in a book possible grammatical transformations of idioms,
with 162,000 references and 14,000 biographical stylistic and register markings for the idioms listed,
and geographical articles. Obviously any teacher of and fairly exhaustive lists of collocates for the
English will profit, as our spot check demonstrates; expressions listed.
it comes out tops both in breadth and depth. Cowie, A. P., R. Mackin and I. R. McCraig. 1983.
Oxford Dictionary of Current Idiomatic English. Vol. 2:
3 General idiom dictionaries and reference works Phrase, Clause and Sentence Idioms. Oxford: Oxford
London, T. H. and D. Summers (eds.). 1979. University Press. (0DCIE2)
Longman Dictionary of English Idioms. London: This volume has extremely wide coverage (7,000
Longman. (LDOEI) entries) of tournures, irreversible binomials, and
Fairly wide coverage of all kinds of idioms, other phrasal compounds. A particularly useful detail is
than phrasal verbs, dealt with in Table 3 (II, 111, the listing of idiomatic similes of the type 'as ADJ as
IV, V, VII, VIII). 4,500 idioms are explained and NP' under 'as'. The use of quotations containing
their grammatical behaviour is also noted. There is the items, together with usage notes, where
a good cross-referencing system. pertinent, and clearly written definitions make the
Seidl, J. and W. McMordie. 1978. English Idioms and dictionary a boon for advanced learners. Teachers
How to Use Them. Oxford: Oxford University Press. will benefit from the concise introduction to idio-
(£/) maticity and related issues.

Fixed expressions in English: reference books and the teacher 133

 McArthur, T. and B. Atkins. 1974. Dictionary of diis thesaurus in organizing his or her own teaching
English Phrasal Verbs and Their Idtoms. Glasgow: materials. For instance, the semantic field classifica-
Collins. (DEPV) tions can be selected to which fixed expressions can
As its title suggests, this is a specialized dictionary. It be allocated, although the fixed expressions them-
can be used with intermediate learners and its selves fall outside the scope of the dictionary.
coverage of 3,000 phrasal verbs, replete with
example sentences, makes it a useful classroom tool. Pulsford, N. G. 1979. The Modem Crossword
Dictionary. London: Pan Books. (MCD)
Partridge, E. 1977. A Dictionary of Catch Phrases. This is a book which can only really be used by the •
London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. (DCP) native speaker. You have to know what you are
A very specialized dictionary, but one which every looking for—usually a set phrase with a known •
good library of English should possess. Its very number of letters such as (11) POETS' CORNER.
idiosyncratic compiler, Eric Partridge, here For the teacher it is a useful device for jogging the
produced one of the few dictionaries which can be mind. The names and everyday expressions
read with pleasure. included make up three-fifths of the book. 48,000
classified phrases and 36,000 words are included

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Ridout, R. and C. Witting. 1967. English Proverbs and classified according to the number of letters
Explained. London: Pan Books. (EPE) they contain—nothing else.
Eight hundred of the most common English
proverbs are classified alphabetically and provided 6 Exercise and practice books
with a straightforward gloss. There are also useful Broughton, G. 1976. Know Your English. London:
cross-references to related proverbs. This is a book Hutchinson (published in 3 volumes).
which the intermediate university student of English Stage 3—for the advanced learner—is of especial
should purchase. Its paperback price makes it worth use for fixed expressions. The book consists of
it. multiple choice questions designed to test know-
Wood, F. T. 1967. English Prepositional Idioms. ledge of vocabulary and structure. Of special
London: Macmillan. (EPI) interest are the exercises dealing with collocations
Despite a certain quaintness or datedness, this and miscellaneous idioms; the exercises are
volume contains two useful complementary parts. scattered throughout each unit dealing with meta-
In the first one, prepositions are listed alphabetic- phorical idioms, similes, and proverbs. Broughton
ally and examples are given for their different also includes phrases and sayings which are part of
meanings. In the second part nouns, verbs, and the socio-cultural background of English, such as
adjectives are listed alphabetically; in particular the lines from nursery-rhymes. The exercises are very
fact that adjectives are scattered throughout the imaginative and can serve as a model for the teacher
book is worthy of mention. There are not many who wishes to produce his or her own material.
places where one can find relatively rapidly the Seidl, J. 1982. Idioms in Practice. Oxford: Oxford
particles which follow adjectives like redolent (of), University Press.
remarkable (for), and rough (on). The book is useful This is an extremely helpful book of exercises (114
for the advanced learner to browse in, but will in all) providing practice and teaching material for
perhaps be of most use to the teacher who is pro- the various types of idioms covered in Seidl/
ducing materials. McMordie (see Section 3). The exercises are of four
basic types and hence rather repetitive. But it is a
5 Miscellaneous dictionaries book to be used, say, over a longer period of time
McArthur, T. 1981. Longman Lexicon of Contemporary by a teacher. It is also of use to the intermediate
English. London: Longman. (LLCE) learner for private study, as it contains a key. Its
This reference work is a tool for general vocabulary cross-references to Seidl/McMordie are a further
learning. While it does give information on colloca- advantage. Unlike many exercise books of idioms
tions, it contains very little on fixed expressions such on the market, this one has been very successful in
as those discussed in this article. The teacher can use contextualizing the 800 or so idioms dealt with.

134 Richard Alexander