Being a linguist—and someone who has tried to learn several languages (including English) in addition to my mother tongue (Flemish Dutch)—I have an annoying habit: instead of paying attention to what ...

From William Shakespeare to Seamus Heaney, figurative language such as idiom, metaphor, symbolism and allegory all function to make a poem sound more colourful and appealing to the reader. But are we ...

For English language learners, mastering idioms is vital for academic and professional success. Proficiency exams like IELTS and TOEFL assess idiom comprehension, recognising it as a sign of advanced ...

Sir, – Hugh Pierce is much exercised by “flying the nest” as an expression, claiming that we are humans, not birds (Letters, September 5th). Has he never heard of Russell Crowe, Peter Finch, Robin ...

In any language there are certain conventions of expression--ways of writing and saying things--that are not necessarily dictated by grammatical rules. But when these conventions are not followed, the ...