ABSTRACT
Idioms are semi-fixed (multi-word) expressions that have acquired a conventionalized, specific, usually figurative, meaning in the course of time and are usually codified with this meaning in reference works. There is an abundance of definitions of the concept in the literature, which usually also overlap with related terms like phraseology, fixed expressions, proverbs and multi-word units. Many idiom researchers have proposed a rough distinction between a broad and a more narrow definition of idiom, with the narrow meaning of idiom referring to a unit which is “fixed and semantically opaque or metaphorical” (Moon 1998: 4). Expressions in this narrow idiom category and their variable and creative use in ELF are the focus of this chapter.
