![]() This principle states that the meaning of a whole should be constructed from the meanings of the parts that make up the whole. That compositionality is the key notion for the analysis of idioms is emphasized in most accounts of idioms. In linguistics, idioms are usually presumed to be figures of speech contradicting the principle of compositionality. Love is blind-an idiom meaning a person who is in love can see no faults or imperfections in the person whom they love. It may have arisen from the superstition that one ought not utter the words "good luck" to an actor because it is believed that doing so will cause the opposite result. For example, " break a leg" is an ironic expression to wish a person good luck just prior to their giving a performance or presentation. Other idioms are deliberately figurative. For instance, the phrase "spill the beans" (meaning to reveal a secret) is first attested in 1919, but has been said to originate from an ancient method of voting by depositing beans in jars, which could be spilled, prematurely revealing the results. Many idiomatic expressions were meant literally in their original use, but sometimes the attribution of the literal meaning changed and the phrase itself grew away from its original roots-typically leading to a folk etymology. ![]()
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