Food and drink idioms in English : "a little bit more sugar and lots of spice"

Idioms carry an aura of mystery for all speakers, owing to the discrepancy between their literal and non-literal meanings. This book clears up some of these ambiguities, by examining a series of expressions that have derived from the most instinctive and essential of all human behaviour: eating and drinking. The quantity and quality of 276 food and drink idioms are explored, investigating two hundred and fifty years of English monolingual lexicography and forty years of usage as attested by contemporary linguistic corpora. The examination of these idioms syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, historical, social and cultural characteristics will foster in speakers a whole new approach to idiom comprehension and usage, and will constitute thought-provoking ground for further research in other idiom domains. "Idioms carry an aura of mystery for all speakers, owing to the discrepancy between their literal and non-literal meanings. This book clears up some of these ambiguities, by examining a series of expressions that have derived from the most instinctive and essential of all human behavior: eating and drinking. The quantity and quality of 276 food and drink idioms are explored, investigating two hundred and fifty years of English monolingual lexicography and forty years of usage as attested by contemporary linguistic corpora. The examination of these idioms' syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, historical, social and cultural characteristics will foster in speakers a whole new approach to idiom comprehension and usage, and will constitute thought-provoking ground for further research in other idiom domains"-- Provided by publisher Dedication Contents Preface Foreword 1 Recent English Studies 2 The Methodological Pursuit 3 The Literal and Non-literal Meanings 4 The Institutionalization of the Idioms 5 The Idioms in 250 Years of Lexicography 6 The Idioms in Use Afterword References