Creative Statement

Why This Topic?

Phrases are something I have been interested in for a long time. I have been collecting phrases on a list on my phone for several years now cultivating a variety that I have come across or spoken on my own. Finding a new phrase gives me a spark of joy, whether it is by my wits, hearing it spoken, or just naturally happening across one as I go about my day. Now while not, everyone may share my passion for all things phrases, idioms, and expressions, phrases are uttered frequently by just about anyone, even unconsciously by many. It is my goal to accumulate and preserve phrases because of their importance in everyday speaking. 

I loved it when my mom would teach me some new phrases like “What does that have to do with the price of cheese in London?” When I think back on my experiences encountering phrases in my earlier years, my parents and grandmother are most prominent in my mind as introducing me to some of my favorite phrases. As I have embarked on this journey, I frequently consult my mother on new phrases I hear to see if she has heard of them and I delight in introducing her to new phrases and explaining their meanings. The passion I have for phrases allows me to enjoy the work and time I am putting into this. 

My more recent fascination comes from my closest friend Noah. At the end of 2021, we start talking about our favorite phrases and idioms. Because we were coming up with so many I decided to create a list on my phone’s notes app and we started rapidly adding any phrase we could think of. I titled this list “Little Phrases” and the first phrase I added was “Even a worm will turn.” Noah had told me this phrase when we were walking around the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk over our winter break from school. I had never heard the phrase before and immediately found it interesting. I was inspired to write them down on the note so that I could write them down at any given moment since the list was on my phone and could be edited at any time. That winter break Noah and I had a great time thinking of as many phrases as we could and putting them on the ever-growing list. 

From the end of 2021 to 2023 I was just leisurely adding phrases as I came across them or thought of them organically or someone asked me to add one. One of my favorite ways of coming across a phrase is through reading or television. I enjoy the different contexts in which the phrases are used and adding ones that have not made it onto the list yet. Over time the list began to take on a community feel to it where it was no longer just mine, but was just a general collection of phrases that we could all consult and add to. 

​

My Process

It did not take me very long to realize that I wanted to incorporate my list of phrases into my Capstone Project somehow. The list had grown substantial and this felt like a perfect opportunity to do something with it. My most arduous hurdle to overcome (that plagued me throughout the entire Capstone process) was finding the medium for showing the phrases to everyone. I had somewhat loosely determined when I first submitted the project idea about doing a book. My main concern was that I wanted to do something creative with my list of phrases. There are already many bodies of work that go phrase by phrase to explain their meanings, there are already scholarly pieces on how phrases are used to communicate, and so on. The problem was that I couldn’t exactly picture how to take this list and create a meaningful project around it. I thought a book would make the most sense since the list was a written body of work already and I thought I could sort out my phrases do some more research on specific phrases and then add my list as an appendix at the end of the book. This project outline is what I based my Literature Review on and the assumption I held until this Fall when I realized that the book was just not sustainable for me at this point in my life. 

My research process mostly started in the Fall of 2023 when I figured out what research was already existing and how I would be adding to it. I found myself with stacks of books all about phrases that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I found lots of scholarly articles to address the different aspects of phrase usage such as: learning idioms as a non-native speaker, phrases that are growing “extinct,” how people speak and how that can lend itself to the phrases they use, and more. Sometimes with phrases, they become ultra-popular for a bit of time but then fade from the memories as newer and more relevant phrases come along and are created. I want to mention one book that I thoroughly learned a lot from, Endangered Phrases: Intriguing Idioms Dangerously Close to Extinction by Steven D. Price. Price investigates which phrases may be on their way out the door and why. There is concern for some newer and older phrases and why they experience cycles of popularity and more usage. All in all, there are many works out there on phrases and idioms in a multitude of realms and angles, and I intend to add to the overarching conversation in the sense of a collaborative platform for others to see and contribute to.

While at the time the research I was conducting was going to have a more direct impact on the result of this project, what I discovered is still applicable and making its way into the outcome, just in a different way than I had originally intended. 

Working with different people who enjoy sharing phrases with me has been my favorite part of this process and working on the Capstone Project. One moment that stands out in my mind is one night in junior year, all of my roommates and I were sitting in the living room just thinking of as many phrases as we could. It was such a fun moment for all of us thinking of the different phrases that we use often or had heard or resonated with. It even led to some interesting debates over what I consider a “phrase” to add to my list. 

This leads to a discussion on what exactly I do consider a phrase for my list. I have worked and worked on a definition that I think adequately sums up the spirit and requirements for my list that I will insert here: 

 

An idiom is a phrase or expression that usually presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase. Some phrases which become figurative idioms, however, do retain the phrase's literal meaning. Categorized as formulaic language, an idiom's figurative meaning is different from the literal meaning.

 

I tend to refer to all expressions, idioms, and phrases as simply: phrases. While idioms tend to be the more exciting and typical additions to the list, there are also a bountiful amount of phrases and expressions as well. Typically I tend to draw the line at more slang-like phrases that pop up on social media sites or among younger age groups, mainly because I don’t think they tend to stay in people’s vernacular for very long and it gets a little complicated if you open the door to adding slang. Additionally, it is important for me to keep the original order of the list intact because you can see the thought process of where one phrase gave me inspiration for another and so on.

 

Here is an example: 

1. Knowledge is power 

2. Time is money 

3. Another day, another dollar 

4. Another day in paradise 

 

I gathered all of this into the first part of the Capstone process and then took a nice long break from phrases research when I studied abroad in the Spring of 2024.  

Coming back to campus in the Fall of 2024, I finally realized and accepted that I had bitten off way more than I could chew with wanting to write a book, so it was back to square one again with the medium except that this time I had a whole lot of research and an even longer list under my belt. Though I still believe the book would have been a great medium for my research, the execution would have been a lot given my course loads. So, that left me in quite a pickle. Truly my biggest struggle with this Capstone Project was figuring out how to present my list in a way that made sense. 

I thought about it for the first few weeks of the fall semester without much luck in figuring out a better way to present my research and the list of phrases. Finally, after almost hitting a breaking point with this project, after talking with Professor Prater I had an epiphany–put them on a website! Now anyone who knows me knows that I am not technologically savvy–at all. Luckily, there are great services for the technologically challenged such as myself that I was able to scope out and utilize. 

I started perusing and found that using Wix to create my website was a perfect way to organize my phrases, some of my research, and other aspects that factor into this project. For example, I have decided to create a form section on the webpage that allows people to submit their phrases and idioms that they didn’t see on my list. I felt that this feature encompassed a key aspect of my list, which is input from others. Nothing makes me happier than my friends and family sending me phrases to add to my list, so I felt it was important to make that a key aspect of the website. Quite honestly, this is also an example of the medium of the project, being a website that is more effective than a written book. With the website, I can seamlessly add to the list with no problem, which even addresses another one of my anxieties about finding more phrases and not being able to incorporate them into this project. Of course, the actual list is the most vital part of the website and visitors of the website can easily access the list by clicking on “The List” at the top of the page. I have also worked to create a feature in which a user can search for a particular phrase or keyword and it should come up (if it is on the list already). I also thought this to be a crucial feature of the website as I wanted people to easily find if their favorite phrases had been added already since that is what my friends and family tend to ask the most. 

I have even had my friend and fellow Bentley Honors Student Gina Palermo help me out with one of the bigger difficulties with the list. Sometimes when I am in a rush or adding too many phrases I end up with duplicates on the list. I usually have a good system in which I can use the search feature on the notes app to figure out if I have already added a certain phrase. But this doesn’t always work as sometimes I will input a phrase slightly differently and it won’t register. That is where Gina comes in. She was able to use a Python package that was able to detect similar lines in a document. So once I provided her the document of all the phrases I had at that point, she then made two documents with this package where it printed out one of the phrases kept and one of the phrases deleted based on similarity. For this process, a loop was created to read each line in the document. If the line was not found in the "unique phrases" list (i.e., it wasn't similar to any existing phrase in the list), it was added to the list. If the line was considered "similar" to a phrase already in the list, it was skipped, and the program moved on to the next line. Furthermore, Gina has set it up so that I can still add new phrases to the list and use this method to delete more duplicates. 

With my phrases research I had been trying to accept that I would never actually get them all written down. But now, I can still add to the list for anyone to see as much as I want to, which is greatly comforting to me. My list of phrases is important to me and something I have taken very seriously over the years of crafting it. My friends can attest that sometimes I struggle for extended periods whether or not something is a phrase for my list. I look forward to continuing to add phrases that I come across throughout my life and those who know my interest and send me phrases they hear. I hope to one day pick back up on this groundwork of research I have conducted to hopefully produce something for publication. I had decided last year that I would want the book to be called “Death by a Thousand Phrases” and so that is the website URL and title. 

My list of phrases is really important to me and something I have taken very seriously over the years of crafting it. My friends can attest that sometimes I struggle for extended periods whether or not something is a phrase for my list. I look forward to continuing to add phrases that I come across throughout my life and those who know my interest and send me phrases they hear. Although my most substantial hurdle throughout this process has been finding the perfect medium for this project on phrases, I could not be happier with the way that it has come about, and so at the end of the day, I am content with the process and excited to share my website with those interested in the topic! I hope to one day pick back up on this groundwork of research I have conducted to hopefully produce something for publication. 
 

​

Additional Content
 

Some of my favorite phrases and their meanings (and my connections to them):

 

Even a worm will turn: Even the humblest and weakest will retaliate if provoked sufficiently. That's the very first phrase on my list. 

Bite the bullet: The origin of this phrase comes from the days before anesthesia when a soldier would be told to bite a bullet during surgery to clamp down on instead of biting off his tongue from the pain. 

Pull yourself up by your bootstraps: achieving your goals through as much hard work as levitation g yourself by grabbing your bootstraps would take 

Burn the candle at both ends: the phrase came originally from a French expression and morphed into working so hard that you burn yourself out. Additionally, candles used to be an expensive item, and thus to burn the candle at both ends implied that one was wasting a valuable item for an obsession. 

Buy the farm: a phrase from the military when someone was to retire they were given insurance money that many military men joked about using to buy a farm and so victims of war were thought to have bought the farm 

As dead as a doornail: really dead. Doornails were hammered into wood and then clenched to provide additional grip which bent it meaning that it could not be used again and was even deader. 

A watched pot never boils: this phrase was introduced to me by my grandmother whom I call, Mommom Suzanne. We were in my kitchen making something and I was growing impatient waiting for the water to come to a boil. She said to me “A watched pot will never boil” and now every time I am boiling water I think about this, and refuse to watch it. 

Penny for your thoughts: This is another phrase that was introduced to me by Mommom Suzanne. When I would stay at her place in the summers, I would often get lost in my thoughts and she would turn to me and say: “Penny for your thoughts?” I had never heard the phrase before she taught it to me, but it became our thing to ask each other. 

Cabin fever: When one becomes restless or disheartened from being separated from others or being stuck inside for too long. The phrase Cabin Fever was used in the 1800s hailing from the American West as people put a name to the feeling of being trapped in their cabins for the long, long winters. It is also thought to have another origin from people who were confined to small quarantined dwellings when they were ill with an infectious disease. I have always liked this phrase and use it when I feel I have been cooped up in one place for too long. 

As mad as a hornet: This is a phrase that my mother would say all the time about my little brother. It simply just means angry, so whenever he was a little kid and would get angry about something my mom would say “he’s as mad as a little hornet.” 

Give up the ghost: To die or stop going. 

Additionally, I thought I would add this here to show the original outline I had been following to write the book. I had worked through the introduction, my phrase definition, scholarly contributions, and specific phrases I wanted to discuss, and then started to sort my phrases into different categories

 

Book Structure:

1. Introduction: 

2. My phrase definition 

3. Scholarly contributions 

4. A formal discussion of phrases 

5. Discussion of phrase types 

   1. Religious 

   2. Modern

   3. Old, very old even biblical 

   4. Misunderstood?

   5. Phrases in the corporate world 

   6. Phrases used by older generations vs. younger generations 

6. Specific phrases I wish to discuss 

7. Problematic phrases 

8. Conclusion 

9. My phrase list

​

​

Appendix

 

Materials Used:

1. Wix Website Builder 

2. Python Package “Rapid Fuzz” 

 

Sources: 

Agar, M. (2002). Language shock: Understanding the culture of conversation. Perennial.

Boatner, M. T., Gates, J. E., & Makkai, A. (1982). A dictionary of American idioms. Shubun International Co. 

Bobojonova, B. (2022). Idioms and Their Importance. Science and education. Retrieved from http://openscience.uz/.

Boers, F., & Demecheleer, M. (2001). Measuring the impact of cross-cultural differences on learners’ comprehension of imageable idioms. ELT Journal. 

Byessonova, O. (2017). Teaching Idioms: Challenges and Approaches. https://api.edu.kz/images/files_institut/sborniki/CURRENT%20HIGHER%20EDUCATION%20ENVIRONMENT%2022.pdf#page=37

Carrol, G. (2021). Jumping sharks and dropping mics: Modern idioms and where they come from. Iff Books. 

Chen, L. (2020). Application of Compensatory Translation Approach to English Idioms. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 11(6), 978+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A642580710/AONE?u=mlin_m_bent&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=6868fdd7

Gibbs, R.W. (1980). Spilling the beans on understanding and memory for idioms in conversation. Mem Cogn 8, 149–156. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213418

He, A., & Zhang, Y. (2018). Sexism in English Proverbs and Idioms. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 9(2), 424+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A626043701/AONE?u=mlin_m_bent&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=678e684b

Mäntylä, K. (2004). Idioms and Language Users : The Effect of the Characteristics of Idioms on Their Recognition and Interpretation by Native and Non-Native Speakers of English. https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/13453 

Nasser, M. N. S., & Raut, S. (2019). Cultural Difficulties of English Idioms Confronting Foreign Learners. Language In India, 19(2), 316+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A582204713/AONE?u=mlin_m_bent&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=7dfcea7b

Price, S.D. (2011). Endangered phrases; intriguing idioms dangerously close to extinction. Reference & Research Book News, 26(6). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A274118886/AONE?u=mlin_m_bent&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=0598dcd7

Spears, R. A. (1999). Phrases and idioms: A practical guide to American English expressions. NTC Pub. Group. 

Sprenger, S. A. (2003). Fixed expressions and the production of idioms. s.n.

Tannen, D. (2011). That’s not what I meant!: How conversational style makes or breaks relationships. Harper. 

Twenge JM, Campbell WK, Gentile B (2012) Increases in Individualistic Words and Phrases in American Books, 1960–2008. PLoS ONE 7(7): e40181. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0040181

Vega-Moreno, R. E. (2002). Representing and Processing Idioms.