Variation and Flexibility within Idiomatic Expressions
Variation and Flexibility within Idiomatic Expressions

Summary/Abstract: The following article is dedicated to the variants and the flexibility of the English idiomatical phrases selected from the short story “North and South” by E. Gaskell. The aim of the article is to facilitate understanding and communication in English, while the awareness of the phrasal expressions will help solve the issues at hand. 332 idioms were chosen, among which 40 have synonyms, two or three synonymous expressions according to the dictionary Oxford Advanced Genie and the phrasal expressions dictionary by A. Richard. The versatility and the transformations of the idiomatic expressions were proven by reference to the example “like a red rag to a bull”. The transformations imply: grammatical changes: the conjunction, the article, the number of the noun, of the person as well as the verb tense, the noun modifier and even lexical changes (the transformation of the nucleus of the idiomatic expression or of other components according to contextual requirements).

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