An idiom is a funny kind of phrase that is more like a word.

· Bits and Bobs 7/27/26
  • An idiom is a funny kind of phrase that is more like a word.
    • Like a word, made out of phonemes or sub-components, the whole becomes more important than the parts.
    • It evolves as a unit, away from its original literal meaning as a string of components.
    • It transcends from being a whole that is just the sum of the parts, to being something else that is different and distinct and can evolve differently.
    • Not too dissimilar from how "black bird" and "blackbird" are two semantically different things, with different evolutionary pressures.