“Micro” Phraseology in Action: A Look at Fixed Binomials

• Main Author: Dušan Gabrovšek
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani (Ljubljana University Press, Faculty of Arts) 2011-05-01
• Series: ELOPE
• Subjects: phraseology; fixed binomial; collocation; idiom; compound; advanced learners’ dictionary
• Online Access: https://revije.ff.uni-lj.si/elope/article/view/3238

Multiword items in English are a motley crew, as they are not only numerous but also structurally, semantically, and functionally diverse. The paper offers a fresh look at fixed binomials, an intriguing and unexpectedly heterogeneous phraseological type prototypically consisting of two lexical components with the coordinating conjunction and – less commonly but, or, (n)either/ (n)or – acting as the connecting element, as e.g. in body and soul, slowly but surely, sooner or later, neither fish nor fowl. In particular, their idiomaticity and lexicographical significance are highlighted, while the cross-linguistic perspective is only outlined.