Frozen Expressions and Semantic Representation

Abstract

This paper is concerned with how to represent the meanings of frozen expressions. It considers the argument structures of lexically filled idiomatic expressions such as kich the bucket first and then the semantic representations of lexically open idiomatic expressions (Fillmore et al. 1988) such as the -er ... the -er [function type], let alone ... [NPI type] and ψhy not ... [speech act type] and other grammatically frozen constructions. The argument structures of the lexically filled (metonymic or metaphorical) idioms are shifted from those of their literal counterparts, retaining the minimal aspects of compositionality.