1. The characteristic features of phraseological units are: 1.ready-made reproduction, 2.structural divisibility, 3.morphological stability, 4.permanence of lexical composition, 5.semantic unity, 6.syntactic fixity.
1.1. Lexical: a skeleton in the cupboard / closet (family’s secret), a blind pig / tiger (to sell alcohol illegally); Grammatical: to be in deep water / waters (to be in a dificult situation), a stony heart – a heart of stone (a stern or cruel nature); Positional: a square peg in a round hole – a round peg in a square hole (a person in a situation unsuited to their abilities or character), to dot the i’s and cross the t’s – to cross one’s t’s and dot one’s i’s (ensure that all details are correct); Quantitative: Tom, Dick and Harry – every Tom, Dick and Harry (anybody and everybody); Mixed variants: raise/stir up the nest of hornets’ nest about one’s ears – to arouse/stir up the nest of hornets (to destroy the nest of wasps).
2. • STRUCTURAL-SEMANTIC CLASSIFICATION OF PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS (A.V. Koonin)
2.1. Prof. Kunin distinguishes: phraseological units, phraseomatic units and borderline (mixed) cases. phraseological units have fully or partly transferred meaning, while phraseomatic units are used in their literal meaning. Phraseological and phraseomatic units are characterized by phraseological stability that distinguishes them from free phrases and compound words.
2.2. Prof. A.I. Smirnitsky classified PUs as highly idiomatic set expressions functioning as word equivalents, and characterized by their semantic and grammatical unity. He suggested three classes of stereotyped phrases:
2.2.1. 1.traditional phrases (nice distinction, rough sketch; 2.phraseological combinations (to fall in love, to get up); 3.idioms (to wash one’s dirty linen in public);
2.2.2. The second group (phraseological combinations) fall into two subgroups:
2.2.2.1. 1)one-top phraseological units, which were compared with derived words; 1.verb-adverb PUs of the type to give up, e.g. to bring up, to try out, to look up, to drop in, etc. 2.PUs of the type to be tired, e.g. to be surprised, to be up to, etc. 3.Prepositional substantative units, e.g. by heart.
2.2.2.2. 2)two-top phraseological units, which were compared with compound words. 1.attributive-nominal, e.g. brains trust, white elephant, blind alley. Units of this type function as noun equivalents; 2.verb-nominal phrases, e.g. to know the ropes, to take place, etc. 3.phraseological repetitions, e.g. ups and downs , rough and ready, flat as a pancake. They function as adverbs or adjectives equivalents; 4.adverbial multi-top units, e.g. every other day.
2.3. Prof. A.V. Kunin develops the theory of stability which consists of the following aspects:
2.3.1. 1.stability of usage, i.e. phraseological units are reproduced ready-made, not created in speech; 2.lexical stability, i.e. the components of phraseological units are either irreplaceable or partially replaceable within the bounds of phraseological variance:
2.3.1.1. 3.Semantic stability is based on lexical stability of phraseological units. In spite of occasional changes the meaning of a phraseological unit is preserved. It may only be specified, made more precise, weakened or strengthened. 4.Syntactic stability.