From William Shakespeare to Seamus Heaney, figurative language such as idiom, metaphor, symbolism and allegory all function to make a poem sound more colourful and appealing to the reader. But are we ...

In any language there are certain conventions of expression--ways of writing and saying things--that are not necessarily dictated by grammatical rules. But when these conventions are not followed, the ...

Phrase of the day: The idiom 'bite the bullet' means facing difficult situations bravely. This expression likely originated ...

Jan. 14-20 is Idiom Week, and today we thought we’d have a heart-to-heart about some strange phrases we use. Idioms, metaphors and similes are all types of figurative language. According to ...

Being a linguist—and someone who has tried to learn several languages (including English) in addition to my mother tongue (Flemish Dutch)—I have an annoying habit: instead of paying attention to what ...

So to speak, to coin a phrase, if you know what I mean. In Denmark, if someone is drunk they might say he's "vissen" (withered) and instead of being "under the table" he’ll be "i hegnet" (in the fence ...

Phrase of the day: The English idiom 'pay the price' describes facing negative outcomes from past choices. This phrase ...

In any language there are certain conventions of expression--ways of writing and saying things--that are not necessarily dictated by grammatical rules. But when these conventions are not followed, the ...