NTC's Super-Mini American Idioms Dictionary [antikvár]

TO THE USER Every language has phrases that cannot be understood literally. Even if you know the meanings of all the words in such a phrase and you understand the grammar completely, the total meaning of the phrase may still be confusing. English has many thousands of such idiomatic expressions. This dictionary is a selection of the most frequently encountered idiomatic expressions found in everyday American English, The collection is small enough to serve as a useful study guide for learners, and large enough to serve as a reference for daily use. The phrases in the dictionary come from many sources. Many have been collected from newspapers and magazines. Others have come from existing dictionaries and reference books. Students studying English as a second or foreign language at Northwestern University have also provided many of the entries, and their lists and questions have helped in selecting the particular idiomatic expressions that appear in this book. NTC's Super-Mini American Idioms Dictionary should prove useful for people who are learning how to understand idiomatic English, the hearing impaired, and for all speakers of English who want to know more about the language. How to Use This Dictionary 1. Expressions are entered in an alphabetical order that ignores hyphens, spaces, and other punctuation. Each expression is entered in its normal form and word order. Entries that begin with short function words such as a, an, as, at, be, by, do, for, from, have, in, off, on, out, under, and up appear both