Nine types of common idiom misuses

Nine types of common misuse of idioms

1. Pretentious 2. Meaningless 3. Repetitive and redundant 4. Self-contradictory 5. Indifferent 6. Indiscriminate color 7. Incompatible Logic 8. Improper modification 9. Wrong use of objects

1. Pretentiousness

Each idiom has its scope of application and objects. If used improperly, it will make a joke.

Example: Looking westward, what is supported by the sea is the Cangshan Mountain covered with silver hair. The Cangshan Mountain is like a screen and the Erhai Lake is like a mirror. It is truly a work of art. ("Craftsmanship" is used to describe artificially made things, but the object is wrong)

2. Read the meaning literally

For some idioms, the meaning is taken for granted, leading to misuse.

Example: When this wonderful TV series was broadcast, the streets were almost empty. People stayed at home and watched the screens, and the streets seemed quiet. ("The alleys are empty" means that people come out of the alleys to the streets, and mostly describes celebrations, welcomes and other grand occasions; from the perspective of the tone of this sentence, it means that people stay behind closed doors to watch TV series at home.)

3. Repetitive redundancy

The same meaning as the idiom has been expressed in the context of the sentence, resulting in semantic duplication.

Example: Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to go to Huangpu Pier to see him off. This was the first and only time I missed an appointment with Mr. Tao and Mr. Zhang. Can forget. ("Gearing over" means "always" and "unforgettable")

4. Self-contradiction

When some idioms are used, their own meaning is different from the rest of the sentence. The semantic meaning of some expressions is not the same and inconsistent.

Example: I am not familiar with the situation there, but you insist on sending me there. Isn’t this unsatisfactory? (Judging from the semantic trend above, the last clause should express "You are forcing me to do this", but "unsatisfactory" means "This barely satisfies me", which is inconsistent and should be changed to " "Forcing people to do things that are difficult")

5. Regardless of importance

Compared with the situation described in the context, the idioms in the sentence are exaggerated, imbalanced, exaggerated, and exaggerated.

Example: Xia Feng from Class 2, Grade 3, slipped and fell as soon as he started running. He got up and chased hard. When he was 20 meters away from the finish line, he finally became a rising star and won the first place in the 3000-meter race. name. ("Rising Stars" refers to outstanding figures who appear later or who have grown up recently. This is a big word but a small use)

6. Inability to distinguish colors

Inability to distinguish colors is mainly manifested in the misuse of praise and blame. , improper style and color, etc.

Example: These young scientists are determined to overcome many difficulties with the courage to do anything and explore the mysteries of nature. ("Do anything" means "dare to do any bad thing", which mistakenly uses a derogatory term as a complimentary term)

7. Illogical

Some idioms seem to be consistent in meaning. The meaning of the sentence is correct, but there are problems when considering it from the perspective of logical reasoning.

Example: This responsible editor dares to be responsible for the text, but other aspects of the book, such as illustrations and binding, are beyond his reach. (The metaphor of "beyond your reach" is far behind and does not constitute a turning point in the above paragraph)

8. Improper modification

Improper modification of idioms mainly manifests itself in the collocation of the modifier center words.

Example: It was a photo of two people. On the left was a handsome People's Liberation Army soldier, and on the right was a weak student. ("Xinxin students" is a collective concept and cannot be used with the quantitative phrase "one")

9. The wrong object is used

That is, the idiom is used to describe Category A things , but it has been used with great disdain on Category B things.

Example: You have just moved into a new home. The room is spacious and bright, but the furnishings are a bit monotonous. I suggest you hang an oil painting, which will definitely make the room shine. ("Peng Pi Sheng Hui" is a modest word, indicating that one is very honored because others come to one's home or hang up calligraphy and paintings inscribed by others.

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Some idioms refer specifically to specific objects, for example: "row after row" describes many houses and other buildings; "a lot of people" and "vast like a sea" describe many books; "respect each other as guests" describes couples; "family happiness" describes A family; "Rare and rare" refers to rare and precious talents or things; "Achieve it in one stroke" refers to writing, painting, and composition being completed quickly; "Change" refers to the reform and change of systems and methods; etc.