Branches of linguistics. Synchronic vs diachronic approaches to the language study. Lexicology – ‘the science of the word’ Lexicon

Ideographic synonyms denote different shades of common meaning, e.g. to come to / arrive at / jump at / leap at a conclusion. In other cases, they differ in intensity of a given meaning:

to have two minds – to be in twenty minds; to be in one’s cups ‘tipsy’ – to be drunk as a skunk ‘drunk and incapable’;

Stylistic synonyms (appropriate only to definite contexts):

What on earth is this? – What the hell is this?

on the Greek calends – When pigs fly.

Polysemy of phraseological units:

to be on the go – 1) be energetic; 2) keep doing smth; 3) be in a hurry; 4) be drunk.

Phraseological units may contain different figures of speech.

metaphor, i.e. the transference of the name based on the association of similarity between two referents, e.g. a lame duck, in a nutshell, to swallow the pill;

simile, e.g. as old as the hills, as good as gold, as cross as two sticks;

metonymy, i.e. the transference of name based on the association f contiguity (an attribute or adjunct is substituted for the thing meant), e.g. all ears, all eyes for, cat’s paw;

hyperbole, i.e. deliberate exaggerated statement not meant to understood literally, but expressing an intensely emotional attitude, e.g. a whale of time; a drop in the ocean.