Ирина Эланс

Автор который поможет с любыми образовательными и учебными заданиями

Idioms with Proper names in the English Language

Outline

1. Introduction

2. Proper Names in Language

3. Phraseology and Phraseological Units

4. Compiling and Translating a List of Phraseological Units

5. Sources and Uses of Proper Nouns

6. The Grouping of Idioms Based on the Semantic Origin of the Proper Noun Contained

7. Conclusion

Bibliography

1. Introduction

Naming a single entity is one of the basic speech acts, included by Searle (1975) in the class of declaratives, alongside declaring war, dismissing and bequeathing. People and places, pets and hurricanes, rock groups and festivities, institutions and commercial products, works of art and shops are given a name (Lehrer 1994). Naming serves to highlight entities that play a role in people's daily life, and to establish and maintain an individuality in society.

Object of analysis of onomastics, proper names (henceforth PNs) have been investigated by philosophers, logicians, anthropologists and psychologists, but only sporadically by linguists.

From an overview of the literature on this area of language, it emerges that special attention has been paid to theoretical issues, while investigations on specific aspects in individual languages are infrequent. This paper is concerned with proper names in English phraseology. If we examine idioms, the dominant subtype of phraseological units, we observe that they involve elements regarded as relevant for various reasons: body parts, because human beings as natural (and cultural) entities are at the centre of language; natural elements, animals, colours, clothing and food, because they are salient aspects of everyday life; references to the Bible, because it is culturally relevant in Anglo-Saxon society. So, we expect to find a number of proper nouns because of their great importance in human communication, where they are signs of cultural, linguistic, geographical, ethnic and social identity. Their analysis can offer an insight into the interplay between language and culture in phraseology.

This paper is aimed to explore the linguistic-cultural aspects and usage of phraseological units containing proper names and examine subcategories this sort of phraseological units can be related to.

2. Proper Names in Language

It is generally agreed among linguists (Hockett 1958: 311–313) that proper nouns are a universal linguistic category. Their status and function is a theoretical issue debated by many scholars, whose views are discussed in Carroll (1983), Coates (2006) and Van Langendonck (2007: 6–118). The topic is complex and controversial; that’s why, we shall focus on its key aspects only.

Proper nouns constitute a system organised according to criteria varying across cultures, and provide an interpretation of the society of which they are the expression. They are linguistic items fulfilling a referential function, i. e. they refer to single entities existing in the real world (Lyons 1977: 214–223). Like deictics, they enable primary identification of their referents; but, unlike deictics, they are not dependent on the immediate situational context (Molino 1982: 19; Lyons 1977: 214; Van Langendonck 2007: 169–71). Like nouns, proper nouns constitute an open class of words and, hence, are lexical rather than grammatical; but, unlike nouns, they lack lexical meaning.

Let us now survey the main linguistic features of proper nouns in English. Their first feature is the initial-capitalisation in writing, whose function is to distinguish a proper noun from a common noun, e.g. Rosemary vs. rosemary. They are subject to some word formation processes: for example, hypocorisms can be formed from full first names, employing various mechanisms:

FULL FORM	HYPOCORISM
John	Johnny	(suffixation)
Joseph	Joe	(shortening)
Richard	Dick	(shortening and phonological modification)

With regard to grammar, names raise various issues. One issue concerns the internal structure of names: they can be mono- or polylexemic, sometimes incorporating the article (e.g. London, John Smith, The Dead Sea); personal names can be preceded by a title (e.g. Mr Smith, Aunt Mary), whose status is rather controversial.

A major issue is represented by the different uses of names. In their primary use as referring expressions, proper nouns can occupy the noun phrase slot, as in ‘He loves Mary’ or ‘They live in Oxford’, but can also function as vocatives, as in ‘I read that, Walter’, and occur in close appositional structures, as in ‘The poet Tennyson died early’.

In secondary uses, names can take on the semantic value 'entity called X', and have a plural form, as in ‘There are few Alfreds in the class.’

They can occur with determiners: the article the or a/an, as in ‘I haven't been in touch with the Joneses for ages’ or ‘I've never met an Ophelia’; quantifiers, as in ‘I know three Ann Smiths’; possessives, as in ‘My Jennifer has won the school prize again’; demonstratives, as in ‘Who's this Penelope who's been sending you emails?’.

They can be modified by adjectives, restrictive relative clauses or prepositional phrases, as in ‘He's the famous George’, ‘This is the Paris I prefer to forget’, ‘The London of my childhood was different’ respectively.

To account for these data, analysts distinguish between the grammatical category 'proper name' having the syntactic status of NP, assigned to the aforementioned names ‘He loves Mary’, ‘They live in Oxford’, ‘I read that, Walter’, ‘The poet Tennyson died early’, and the category 'proper noun', having the status of common noun, assigned to the names in ‘There are few Alfreds in the class’ and all subsequent examples above provided.

Let us now consider the semantics of proper nouns, an issue much discussed from Mill (1867) onwards. They are diachronically motivated, and a meaningful etymon is found in most cases: e.g. family names derive from elements of common vocabulary referring to parentage (son of Richard > Richardson), or occupation (miller > Miller). But they are synchronically opaque; as stated by Lyons (1977: 198), "it is widely, though not universally, accepted that proper names do not have sense".

Provided that they are elements fulfilling a referential function, how the relation between proper noun and referent is established can be explained pragmatically. A proper noun is assigned to a given referent by some social convention, and encyclopaedic information is associated with it in long-term memory (Marmaridou 1989: 355–56). In particular, personal names may be attributed to more than one referent, yet, in discourse the encoder refers to a specific referent, situated in a given time and space. In order to understand which referent the encoder is referring to, the decoder must possess a competence of the name system as well as the chunks of encyclopaedic knowledge associated with a name to establish a link between proper noun and referent. Only when the decoder retrieves associated information from his/her knowledge, the 'virtual' referent is actualised, and the proper noun becomes a 'rigid designator' (a notion introduced by Kripke, 1972). Let us now consider the following example:

He saw Philip on the street corner.

The decoder recognises Philip as a proper noun, but does not possess the chunk necessary to pair proper noun and referent. Yet, names can arouse expectations based on encyclopaedic knowledge; so Philip is expected to be ‘the first name of a male human being’. Hence the decoder interprets the name as 'male human being', but it might refer to a dog.

In short, proper nouns constitute a class of linguistic items sharing features with both nouns and deictics. Formally, PNs share some grammatical features with common nouns, but differ from them in various respects. Both proper nouns and deictics lack lexical meaning and have a referential function; but, while the interpretation of deictics depends on the situational context, the interpretation of proper nouns depends on the linguistic context and encyclopaedic knowledge. In interpreting the proper noun, the decoder first has to recognise whether its use is referential or figurative, relying on the linguistic context; then, s/he will activate encyclopaedic knowledge or recur to her/his lexical competence, if the item is lexicalised (see below). Finally, proper nouns refer to a 'fixed' referent, while deictics to a referent that can vary according to the situational context.

Another use of names is central to understand the phenomenon under discussion. Proper nouns, in particular personal names, more rarely place names, are used figuratively as metaphors, similes, hyperboles and antonomasias, either in a creative way (e.g. He is a new Hemingway) or as lexicalised items. In these uses, proper nouns have a descriptive function: they indicate some salient attribute or property of the referent of the name. They function as nouns, taking on both a denotational and a connotational meaning originated in a selection of salient bits of information extracted from encyclopaedic knowledge about a referent. Consider the examples:

She is playing Pollyanna.

The war is becoming a Vietnam.

In the first example, Pollyanna, referring to the chief character in the novel Pollyanna (1913) by E. Porter, denotes a person constantly or excessively optimistic. In the second one, Vietnam, referring to the country where US troops intervened, takes on the meaning 'disastrous military intervention'.

The metaphorical use of proper nouns reflects cultural specificities (Wee 2006) that can pose problems in translation (Pierini 2006). As we shall see in the next sections, names show their more complex properties and their culture-specific features in phraseology. Since it abounds in cultural information, Russian scholars argue that linguo-cultural analysis is best suited for this area of language (Teliya et al. 1998).

3. Phraseology and Phraseological Units

The term 'phraseology' originated in Russian studies which developed from the late 1940's to the 1960's. It is now currently used to refer either to the set of phraseological units in a language, or to the branch of linguistics studying them. Scholars have provided various definitions of these units and various criteria to classify them. One working definition could be the following: a phraseological expression is a sequence constituted by at least two independent lexical items, stored as a unit in lexis. Its basic features, as mentioned in the literature, are: a) fixedness – it is a multiword unit, fixed in syntax as well as lexis; b) institutionalisation – it is a conventionalised unit, being the result of an initially novel expression; c) non-compositionality – its global meaning is not predictable from the meaning of its constituent words.

Phraseological expressions often carry connotations not present in their non-idiomatic synonimic expressions, and can have various functions in discourse: the informational, the evaluative, the situational, the modalising and the organisational function (Moon 1998: 217–240). When classifying them, a useful distinction is that suggested by Gläser (1998: 126–127), between word-like and sentence-like expressions. Word-like units designate a phenomenon, an object, an action, a process or state, a property in the real world; they embrace idioms and non-idioms (i. e. restricted collocations), functioning as nouns, verbs, adjectives or adverbs. Sentence-like units, such as proverbs, maxims and formulae, designate a whole state of affairs in the real world. The transition area between the two groups is occupied by units such as irreversible binomials, stereotyped similes, and fragments of proverbs.

The current analysis is focused on four phraseological types of which I am now going to give a short description. The first type is the 'idiom', a word group having the structure of: a noun phrase (e.g. a hot potato); a verb phrase (e.g. bark up the wrong tree); an adjective phrase (e.g. wet to the skin), a prepositional phrase (e.g. beyond compare), or an adverb phrase (by far). The second type is the 'irreversible binomial' (Gläser 1998: 126; Moon 1998: 152–156), a pair of two words belonging to a same part of speech joined by and, and occurring in a fixed order (e.g. odds and ends).

The third type is the 'stereotyped simile' (Moon 1998: 150–152), occurring in two structures. The first, typically occurring in predicative position, is (as) + Adj + as + NP (e.g. blind as a bat). The adjective, quite ordinary and gradable in most cases, is used literally, and the NP, used figuratively, serves to intensify the meaning of the adjective. The nouns in NP are entities (humans, animals, objects) to which British people have conventionally attributed certain characteristics, the same characteristic expressed by the adjective. Over time, each NP has come to represent the epitome of individual characteristics. The other structure is V + like + NP (e.g. eat like a horse), where the verb is used literally and the NP figuratively, to intensify the meaning of the verb. The fourth type is the 'formula' (Gläser 1998: 127; Moon 1998: 21f.), a situation-based expression serving a specific discursive function, typically occurring in spoken discourse (e.g. Good luck; It's a small world).

4. Compiling and Translating a List of Phraseological Units

By surveying a number of idiom dictionaries (CCDI, LDEI, LID, ODI), a total of 91 expressions have been collected for this paper, selecting the units labelled as 'British' or without any geographical label: 69 idioms, 5 binomials, 11 similes and 6 formulae. For each unit, the usage labels is provided, when found in dictionaries ('derogatory', 'euphemistic', 'humorous', 'colloquial/informal', 'formal', 'dated', 'old-fashioned', 'archaic', 'slang', 'literary'). The manner of arrangement chosen to present the list of data is by phraseological type and syntactic structure.

4.1 Idioms I: Noun Phrases

Idiomatic noun phrases can have various structures.

The first type is the sequence (Det) + PN:

(a) Joe Bloggs - самый обычный, ничем не примечательный человек

(b) a Florence Nightingale (inf) – добрая душа

The second type is the sequence (Det) + title + PN:

(a) Uncle Tom Cobley and all (inf) – очень длинный список имен людей

(b) a Colonel Blimp - "полковник Блимп" (олицетворение косности и шовинизма) по имени толстого усатого полковника - комического персонажа карикатур Д.Лоу

(d) Aunt Sally - объект критики, оскорблений

(e) Uncle Sam - "дядя Сэм", США

The third type is constituted by sequences involving Det, Adj and PN in various combinations, except for (k):

(a) an admirable Crichton – "несравненный Крайтон", учёный, образованный человек, учёный муж

(b) a doubting Thomas – Фома неверующий, скептик

(d) the old Adam (old-fash) – ветхий Адам, греховная природа человека

(e) a peeping Tom – чрезмерно любопытный человек

(f) a plain Jane - простушка

(g) sweet Fanny Adams (euph) – пустое место (о человеке), совсем ничего

(h) the real McCoy (inf) – всамделишный, подлинный

(i) every Tom, Dick and Harry/

any Tom, Dick or Harry/Harriet (inf) – всякий, каждый; первый встречный; обычный, заурядный человек

(j) every man Jack (inf) – все до одного, как один, все без исключения

(k) the new Jerusalem (lit) - рай

The next type is represented by more complex phrases:

(Det) + PN's + N

(a) Achilles' heel - ахиллесова пята; слабое, уязвимое место

(b) Adam's ale – (lit) "вино Адама", вода

(d) a Benjamin's portion - изрядная доля, львиная доля

(e) a Frankenstein's monster – создание, пугающее или опасное для своего создателя

(f) Hobson's choice (inf) - выбор без выбора, отсутствие выбора

(g) a Job's comforter - человек, который (подобно друзьям библейского Иова) под видом утешения только усугубляет чьё-л. горе

(h) Morton's fork - дилемма

(i) Nessus' shirt / shirt of Nessus (lit) – тяжелое положение

(j) Tom Tiddler's ground - место лёгкой наживы; золотое дно; ничейная земля

Det + PN + N

(a) a Judas kiss - поцелуй Иуды (символ предательства)

(b) a London particular - лондонский туман

(d) The Queensberry rules - "Правила Куинзберри" (свод правил профессионального бокса. Составлен в 1867)

(e) a Potemkin village – потемкинская деревня, показная красота, скрывающая безобразность

NP1 + preposition + NP2 (the name can be in NP1 or NP2)

(a) Alice in Wonderland (inf) – вымысел

(b) a Jack of all trades (and master of none) (coll) – на все руки мастер

(d) the man on the Clapham omnibus - "Человек с Клэпемского автобуса (омнибуса)" (по названию района на юго-западе Лондона): средний британец, обычно из малообразованных слоёв общества; рядовой гражданин, человек из народа

(e) the mark of Cain - каинова печать: клеймо преступления, убийства; печать проклятия

(f) a sword of Damocles (lit) – дамоклов меч

4.2 Idioms II: Verb Phrases

In this group, idioms are presented in two separate lists, whether involving a personal or a place name. The name can occur in object NP, or in PP:

Pers.: (a) appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober – просить кого-л. трезво подумать и пересмотреть скороспелое решение

(b) appeal to Caesar – обратиться к высшей власти или к старшим

(d) go to Davy Jones's locker – утонуть

(e) keep up with the Joneses - "равняться на Джонсов", стараться жить не хуже других, жить не по средствам, чтобы не отставать от других

(f) live the life of Riley (inf) – жить обеспеченной жизнью

(g) not know someone from Adam (inf) – не узнать человека, о котором идет речь

(h) open (a) Pandora's box – играть с опасной игрушкой

(i) out-Herod Herod (lit) - "переиродить самого Ирода", перестараться, переусердствовать

(j) raise Cain - поднять шум, крик; буянить, скандалить

(k) rob Peter to pay Paul - отдать одни долги, сделав новые

(l) take the Mickey (out of) (inf) - подшучивать над кем-л.

Place: (a) built castles in Spain – строить воздушные замки

(b) carry/take coals to Newcastle (inf) - "возить уголь в Ньюкасл", т. е. возить что-л. туда, где этого и так достаточно

(d) have kissed the Blarney Stone (inf) – быть льстецом

(e) meet one's Waterloo - быть разгромленным, понести окончательное поражение

(f) paint the Forth Bridge – тянуть кота за хвост

(g) pile/heap Pelion on Ossa – усложнить что-то и без того сложное

(h) send someone to Coventry (inf) – не хотеть с кем-л. разговаривать

4.3 Idioms III: Prepositional Phrases

In this type (prep + NP), the name occurs in NP.

(a) according to Hoyle - "по Хойлу", по всем правилам; правильно

(b) in Abraham's bosom (dated, euph) - почить на лоне Авраамовом; жить в большом комфорте

(d) between Scylla and Charybdis (lit) – между Сциллой и Харибдой, в безвыходном положении; между двух огней

(e) for all the tea in China (coll, hum) – ни за какие богатства, ни за что

(f) from China to Peru (lit, old-fash) - "от Китая до Перу", с одного конца земли до другого, повсюду

(g) in Queer Street (inf, dated) - в затруднительном финансовом положении

4.4 Idioms IV: subordinate clause

(a) before one/you can say Jack Robinson (inf) – в два счёта, в мгновение ока; и опомниться или ахнуть не успел; не успел и глазом моргнуть

4.5 Irreversible binomials

The binomials selected consist of PN + and +PN, except for (e) consisting of Adj + and + Adj (a compound containing a PN):

(a) David and Goliath (hum) -

(b) Damon and Pythias (hum) – Дамон и Пифиас, закадычные, неразлучные друзья

(d) Jekyll and Hyde (hum) – человек-оборотень, в котором берёт верх то доброе начало, то злое

(e) Shipshape and Bristol fashion (hum) – в полном порядке

4.6 Stereotyped similes

The similes having the structure (as) Adj + as + NP (initial as is generally optional) are shown in the first list, and V + like + NP in the second one:

(a) happy as Larry – рад-радёшенек; на седьмом небе

(b) hot as Hades – горячий, раскаленный

(d) pleased as Punch (coll) - очень доволен, рад-радёшенек, от души рад

(e) poor as Lazarus (dated) – очень бедный

(f) rich as Croesus (dated) – богат как Крез

(a) be like Hamlet without the prince – быть как Гамлет без принца Датского (что-л., лишённое самой своей сути)

(b) be like the Black Hole of Calcutta – (о месте): очень маленький и тесный, очень темный (хоть глаз коли)

(d) grin/smile like a Cheshire cat (coll) - ухмыляться, улыбаться во весь рот

4.7 Formulae

These expressions appear as a phrase or a clause. Their status as pragmatically specialised units is, in most cases, focused on in dictionaries, where the method of defining them is 'context-based': the lexicographic definitions, quoted in the examples below, express in what context and for what discursive purpose each formula is used:

(a) (and) Bob's your uncle (inf) 'everything is fine, problem solved'

(b) I'm all right, Jack (inf) 'used to express or comment upon selfish complacency'

(d) it's even Stephen (coll) 'it is a situation in which all the persons concerned have an equal chance of finally winning or succeeding'

(e) (it's) Murphy's law (coll) 'used in order to say that the worst possible thing always seems to happen when it is most annoying'

(f) all Lombard Street to a China orange (inf) 'used in the context of making a bet, either explicitly or implicitly'

5. Sources and Uses of Proper Nouns

Considering the names in phraseological expressions, we can note a predominance of personal over place names (unsurprisingly, given the anthropocentricity of language); within the former, a predominance of male over female names, and first names over family names, with a number of hypocorisms. The very low presence of female names is motivated by socio-cultural factors: in society, men played (and still play) a more active role than women. Among them, we find: Alice in Wonderland, Florence Nightingale, Mrs. Grundy, Aunt Sally, plain Jane, Pandora, (Darby and) Joan, Fanny Adams. They are usually employed to convey a negative or not wholly positive evaluation.

With regard to the presence of hypocorisms derived from very common first names (Bob, Dick, Harry, Joe, Jack, Larry, Mike, Mickey, Tom), it seems to be a culture-specific feature of English phraseology; for example, hypocorisms are rarely found in Italian phraseology. In particular, Mike and Mickey are now the generic name for an Irishman; Jack has come to denote any individual person, and also occurs in compounds, denoting types of person (e.g. Jack-in-office, jack-the-lad), objects (e.g. Jack-in-the-box, Jack-a-Lent, Jack-o-lantern), plants (Jack-in-the-pulpit) and animals (jackdaw).

An overview of the personal names involved in the expressions indicate the following types of sources:

– the Bible: doubting Thomas; Judas kiss; the mark of Cain; David and Goliath; like Daniel in the lion's den; old as Adam;

– literary texts: internationally known works (Aladdin's cave from The Arabian Nights); famous British works, by Shakespeare (be like Hamlet without the prince), Stevenson (Jekyll and Hide), Carroll (Alice in Wonderland), Mary Shelley (Frankenstein's monster); more marginal works, by James Thurber (Walter Mitty), and Tom Morton (Mrs Grundy);

– classical heritage, i. e. mythology and figures of Greek and Roman antiquity: Pandora's box; Achilles' heel, Nessus' shirt, Midas touch, rich as Croesus, Damon and Pythias; appeal to Caesar;

– popular culture: Darby and Joan (after a couple mentioned in an 18th-century ballad); pleased as Punch (after Mr. Punch, from the traditional children's puppet show 'Punch and Judy'); Colonel Blimp (after a character in newspaper cartoons created by David Lowe in the late 1930s); Aunt Sally (referring to the figure of an old woman's head, used in fairgrounds and fђtes as a target for balls or other objects); Tom Tiddler's ground (a children's game); Uncle Tom Cobley and all (Uncle Tom Cobley is the last of a long list of men in the English song "Widdicombe Fair", c. 1800);

– real people, rarely legendary figures: Florence Nightingale (after the famous nurse (1820–1910) who served in military hospitals during the Crimean War); Hobson's choice (after Thomas Hobson (1544–1631), a livery man who gave his customers no choice, but made them take the nearest horse); peeping Tom (after the tailor that, according to legend, peeped at Lady Godiva when she rode naked through Coventry); Morton's fork (after John Morton (1420–1500), who was Archbishop of Canterbury and chief minister of Henry VII; the expression refers to the argument used by Morton to extract loans); the Queensberry rules (after Sir John Sholto Douglas, Marquis of Queensberry, who drew up a code of rules to govern boxing in 1869); according to Hoyle (after Edmond Hoyle (1672–1769), barrister and writer of works on card games); sweet Fanny Adams (after the 8-year-old victim in a famous murder case in 1867; it is often abbreviated in speech to sweet FA, which is vulgarly understood to be a euphemism for the taboo phrase fuck all); happy as Larry (probably after the famous Australian boxer Larry Foley (1847–1917)); a Potemkin village (after Count Potemkin (1739–1791) who ordered a number of sham villages to be built for the Empress Catherine II's tour of Crimea).

In some cases, the source of the PN is unknown (live the life of Riley, Murphy's law). In one case, the PN is not actually a name: Uncle Sam is apparently a humorous interpretation of the letters stamped on army supply boxes during the War of 1812, i. e. U.S.

The collected expressions exemplify the two mechanisms exploited in the use of PNs in phraseology: on one hand, the use of very common names (e.g. keep up with the Joneses, where Jones, one of the most frequent family names, is used as a generic name for one's neighbours); on the other hand, the 'cultural allusion', i. e. the reference to people and places the members of British culture are (or were) familiar with. In this case, denotational (and connotational) meaning is established extracting salient bits of information from world knowledge associated with each of them.

Also the examination of place names reveals interesting aspects. They refer to:

– places in UK: London, with its fog and districts (a London particular, from Dickens's Bleak House; the man on the Clapham omnibus); Newcastle-upon-Tyne, which was a centre of coal-mining (carry coals to Newcastle); Coventry, probably from an old story that soldiers on military duty there were greatly disliked by the people of the town (send to Coventry); Bristol, a major port trading with America in the 17th and 18th century, hence the reference to ships newly painted, with scrubbed surfaces and brass polished (shipshape and Bristol fashion); the Cheshire county (grin like a Cheshire cat, after the character in Carroll's Alice in Wonderland); the Irish town of Kilkenny (fight like Kilkenny cats); Blarney Stone near Cork (have kissed the Blarney Stone); the Forth Bridge in Scotland (paint the Forth Bridge);

– eastern countries related to the British colonial past: India, in like the Black Hole of Calcutta, referring to an event in Calcutta in 1756, when a large number of Europeans were put into one very small prison for a night; in the morning, only a few were still alive; China, in all Lombard Street to a China orange, (not) for all the tea in China, from China to Peru

– places related to classical heritage: fiddle while Rome burns; between Scylla and Charybdis

– places on the Continent: Spain (build castles in Spain), and Waterloo (meet one's Waterloo).

6. The Grouping of Idioms Based on the Semantic Origin of the Proper Noun Contained

There are many idiomatic expressions that contain proper names. The same as other idioms, they came from people's everyday life, folklore, prose and poetry, myths, fairy tales, fables, songs, slang, and other sources.

Quite a few idioms with proper names are familiar to people of different nationalities, and it's natural that a student of English wants to know how to say those colorful expressions in English. It should be stressed, though, that idioms with proper names are not used in speech or writing often. For example, we all know such expressions as Pyrrhic victory; as wise as Solomon; Uncle Sam. But how often do we actually use them? Generally, we prefer more neutral phrases in everyday speech.

Also, some idioms containing people's names, names of nationalities, cities, or countries may be perceived as offensive stereotypes and cliches, and should be avoided.

The lists below illustrate some English idioms and proverbs with proper names. They include idioms that are still in use as well as some bookish or outdated expressions:

Idioms with people's names

Barbie Doll – an attractive but mindless person (man or woman);

before you could say Jack Robinson – very quickly;

doubting Thomas – a skeptic; a person who refuses to believe without clear proof;

every Tom, Dick and Harry – any / every ordinary man;

GI Joe – an American soldier;

Jack of all trades – a person who is able to do many manual jobs;

Joe Blow / Joe Doakes – an average citizen;

John Bull – a typical Englishman; the English people;

John Doe – 1. an unnamed person in legal proceedings; 2. an anonymous average citizen;

John Hancock – a person's signature;

Johnny-come-lately – a newcomer; a participant who started later than the others;

Jolly Roger – a pirate flag;

keep up with the Joneses – to try to achieve the same social position and wealth as one's neighbors or acquaintances;

Mister Right (or Miss Right) – the person one would like to marry; a perfect match;

Mr. Nice Guy – a very decent, friendly man;

Peeping Tom – a voyeur; a person who secretly watches other people undressing.

the real McCoy – the genuine thing, not an imitation;

rob Peter to pay Paul – to borrow from one to give to another;

Tommy Atkins – a British soldier;

Uncle Sam – the U.S.; the U.S. government.

Idioms with the names of countries, cities, streets, and nationalities

be Greek to someone – to be completely unintelligible to someone;

the Big Apple – the nickname of New York City;

Black Russian – a cocktail made from coffee liqueur and vodka;

carry coals to Newcastle – to bring something to a place which has plenty of such things already;

double Dutch – completely unintelligible language, especially technical jargon;

French leave – departure without goodbye, notice, or permission;

go Dutch – to pay for oneself (in a restaurant, movie theater);

grin like a Cheshire cat – to smile or grin inscrutably;

Indian summer – a period of warm weather in autumn;

in plain English – in simple, understandable language;

in Queer Street – in financial instability, in difficulty or trouble;

Madison Avenue – the advertising industry of the United States;

meet one's Waterloo – to be defeated;

on Easy Street – in wealth, in financial security and comfort;

Pardon my French – used as an apology for vulgar or obscene language;

Silicon Valley – the world of computers and high technology;

Utopian dreams / schemes – beautiful but impracticable plans;

Wall Street – American money market; American financial oligarchy.

Idioms with the names of months and days

April fool – the victim of a joke played on April Fools' Day;

as mad as a March hare – a mad or peculiar person;

May queen – a girl crowned with flowers and honored as queen on May Day;

Blue Monday – Monday as a depressing workday after Sunday;

Black Friday – any Friday on which financial or other misfortunes happen;

girl Friday – a low-ranking office assistant with various duties;

man Friday – a true servant;

a month of Sundays – a very long time;

Sunday best / Sunday clothes – one's best clothes for special occasions;

Sunday driver – an inexperienced driver;

Sunday School – school for religious instruction on Sundays;

when two Sundays come together – never.

Idioms from mythology and ancient history

Achilles' heel – the most vulnerable spot;

Alpha and Omega – the beginning and the end;

as rich as Croesus – a very rich person;

as wise as Solomon – a very wise person;

between Scylla and Charybdis – between two equally disastrous alternatives (also: between two fires, between the hammer and the anvil);

cut the Gordian knot – to solve a difficult problem quickly and boldly;

Janus-faced – having two contrasting aspects or qualities;

Pandora's box – a source of various unforeseen troubles and evils;

Pyrrhic victory – a victory where the loss is bigger than the gain;

Trojan Horse – something that is designed to undermine or destroy from within;

work like a Trojan – to work very hard.

7. Conclusion

Some points emerge from the analysis. First, the largest group of expressions is constituted by idioms having the structure of noun phrases. Secondly, the personal and place names involved in phraseology are historically, socially or culturally prominent in British culture. Among them, there is a predominance of personal over place names, and within the former, a predominance of male over female names, and first names over family names, with a number of hypocorisms. Thirdly, many units express evaluation (often disapproval or criticism).

The expressions examined constitute a rich repertoire of resources potentially available to users, who can select the most appropriate expression according to their communicative needs: for example, to add humour, to emphasise an idea, to express a negative evaluation indirectly.

The present study has provided a starting point, and further research can make the picture of phraseology involving proper nouns more accurate and complete.

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Idioms with Proper names in the English Language