Free word groups and phraseological units

Lecture 2.2. Borrowing of Phraseological Units

Phraseological units adopted from American English

Biblical phrases

Shakespearean phrases and changes in them

Adoption from different languages translated by any type of translation

Phraseological units adopted from American English

A lot of phraseological expressions came to England from the USA. They belong to intralingual adoptions. Some of these phraseological expressions were assimilated that in English dictionaries there is no mark of their American origin. To such «Americanisms» we could attribute, for example, bark up the wrong tree – ошибиться, обратиться не по адресу, do one's level best – сделать все возможное, не щадить усилий; face the music – стойко переносить неприятности, расплачиваться; а (or the) green light – зеленая улица, свобода действий; sell like hot cakes – раскупаться как горячие пирожки, нарасхват; sit on the fence – занимать нейтральную или выжидательную позицию; spill the beans – выдать секрет, проболтаться, проговориться; take a back seat –стушеваться, отойти на задний план, занимать скромное положение and others.
The mark like chiefly US shows the partial assimilation of Americanism. To such phraseological expressions we could attribute off limits – вход запрещен; out of sight – великолепно, несравненно; small potatoes – мелкая сошка and others.
There are no American words in mentioned above phraseological expressions and in many others, so they could easily be accepted as primordial English phraseological expressions. Their American origin we could ascertain with lexicographical facts and with analysis of sources.
In some Americanisms we could find American words, take for instance, cent and dollar: a red cent – медный грош; feel (or look) like a million dollars –отлично себя чувствовать (отлично выглядеть; иметь шикарный вид) and others.
The creators of the most set phrases are known.
Benjamin Franklin: Time is money – время – деньги («Advice to a Young Tradesman», 1748)
Washington Irving: the almighty dollar – «всемогущий доллар»
Fennimore Cupper: go on the warpath – вступить на путь войны, быть в воинственном настроении
Henry Longfello: ships that pass in the night – мимолетные, случайные встречи
John Hoy: the grapes of wrath – гроздья гнева
Jack London: the call of the wild – «зов природы»; the iron heel – «железная пята», империализм
Theodor Roosevelt: the big stick – политика большой дубинки, политика силы.
Nowadays we think that there is a difference between the American English and the British English, but the difference is connected with the pronunciation of some words, meaning of some word and we thing that Americans use wrong language. They could use wrong tense, wrong word, and we not to mention pronunciation. It is possible that some of us would think that it was a stupid thing to adopt phraseological expressions from the American English.
In our opinion, there is not anything bad in idiom adoptions from the American English. British people just wanted to improve and renew the English language. They did not change anything in American phraseological expressions. So, we cannot imagine how we would live if we did not have these expressions.