---
title: idiom — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «idiom» in the school dictionary: An idiom is a group of words with a meaning you cannot guess from the separate words, like «it's raining cats and dogs» (it is raining very hard). Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# idiom

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** idiom, you, it, group, piece, Idioms · **What happens:** be, not guess, rain, speak, write, mean · **To what, where:** group, meaning, separate words, cats, special way, piece · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«idiom» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [idiom in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/idiom.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An idiom is a group of words with a meaning you cannot guess from the separate words, like «it's raining cats and dogs» (it is raining very hard).

<!-- fold The tree, 30 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:idiom:m1:1
# text = An idiom is a group of words with a meaning you cannot guess from the separate words, like «it's raining cats and dogs» (it is raining very hard).
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	idiom	idiom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	group	group	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	_
8	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	meaning	meaning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
11	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
12	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	14	advmod	_	_
14	guess	guess	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	acl	_	_
15	from	from	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
17	separate	separate	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
18	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	24	punct	_	_
20	like	like	SCONJ	IN	_	24	mark	_	_
21	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	24	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	24	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	24	aux	_	_
24	raining	rain	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	14	parataxis	_	_
25	cats	cat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	24	obj	_	_
26	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	27	cc	_	_
27	dogs	dog	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	25	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	25	punct	_	_
29	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	32	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	32	nsubj	_	_
31	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	32	aux	_	_
32	raining	rain	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	24	parataxis	_	_
33	very	very	ADV	RB	_	34	advmod	_	_
34	hard	hard	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	32	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
35	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	32	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
36	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a idiom | a group |  |  |  | of words with a meaning | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **guess** | can | you | a meaning *not said here* |  | the separate words |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **rain** *in a quote* | present · progressive | it | cats and dogs |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **rain** | present · progressive | it |  |  |  |  | hard *property* | vn weather-57 «It V PP.theme» |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An idiom can also be the special way a group of people speak or write.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:idiom:m2:1
# text = An idiom can also be the special way a group of people speak or write.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	idiom	idiom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	cop	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	special	special	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	group	group	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nmod	_	_
13	speak	speak	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	_
14	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	write	write	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | can | a idiom | the special way |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **speak** *speech: other* | present | a group of people | the special way *not said here* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **write** | present | a group of people *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«It's a piece of cake» is an idiom meaning it's easy.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:idiom:x1:1
# text = «It's a piece of cake» is an idiom meaning it's easy.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	piece	piece	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	cake	cake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
10	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	idiom	idiom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
12	meaning	mean	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	11	acl	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	expl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
15	easy	easy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** *in a quote* | present | It | a piece |  |  |  | of cake | tree rules |
| 2 | **is a** | present | a piece | a idiom |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **mean** | gerund | a idiom *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is** *not said to happen* | present | a idiom *not said here* |  |  |  |  | easy *property* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My Polish friend was puzzled by the idiom «raining cats and dogs».

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:idiom:x2:1
# text = My Polish friend was puzzled by the idiom «raining cats and dogs».
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	Polish	polish	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	friend	friend	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	puzzled	puzzle	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	idiom	idiom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	raining	rain	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	parataxis	_	_
11	cats	cat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obj	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	dogs	dog	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **puzzle** | past · passive | the idiom | My Polish friend |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **rain** *in a quote* | gerund |  | cats and dogs |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Can you draw the literal meaning of the idiom «spill the beans»?

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:idiom:x3:1
# text = Can you draw the literal meaning of the idiom «spill the beans»?
1	Can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
2	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	draw	draw	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	literal	literal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	meaning	meaning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	idiom	idiom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
10	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	spill	spill	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	beans	bean	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **draw** | can | you | the literal meaning of the idiom |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **spill** *in a quote* | infinitive |  | the beans |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location bean=Theme |
| 3 | **mean** |  |  | the idiom |  |  |  |  | nom meaning «communication transitive»: of=patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Under the weather» is an idiom for feeling ill.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:idiom:x4:1
# text = «Under the weather» is an idiom for feeling ill.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Under	under	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	weather	weather	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	idiom	idiom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
9	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
10	feeling	feel	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	acl	_	_
11	ill	ill	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present |  | a idiom |  | the weather |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **feel** | gerund | a idiom *not said here* |  |  |  |  | ill *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Idioms are hard to translate into other languages.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:idiom:x5:1
# text = Idioms are hard to translate into other languages.
1	Idioms	idiom	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	translate	translate	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	into	into	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	languages	language	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Idioms |  |  |  |  | hard *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **translate** | to-infinitive | Idioms *not said here* |  |  |  |  | into other languages *result* | vn turn-26.6.1 «NP.patient V PP.result»: agent=Patient into language=Result |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Let the cat out of the bag» is an idiom about telling a secret.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:idiom:x6:1
# text = «Let the cat out of the bag» is an idiom about telling a secret.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Let	let	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	csubj	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	out	out	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	bag	bag	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
11	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	idiom	idiom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
13	about	about	SCONJ	IN	_	14	mark	_	_
14	telling	tell	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	12	acl	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	secret	secret	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **let** *in a quote* | infinitive |  | the cat |  | the bag |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cat=Theme |
| 2 | **is a** | present |  | a idiom |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **tell** *speech: assert* | gerund | a secret | a idiom *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent idiom=Recipient |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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