ON IDIOMS OF COMPARISON IN ENGLISH AND CROATIAN

Abstract: The study reported in this paper examines idioms of comparison in English and Croatian. In particular, it investigates the relationship between idioms of comparison (IOC), similes, metaphors and metonymies, and characteristics and structure of IOCs. Moreover, it discusses specific features and types of IOCs that were observed when contrasting sets of English and Croatian expressions. Special attention is paid to variations and modifications of canonical forms of IOCs. Other issues addressed include lexical relationships between IOCs, expressions for indirect negation, expressions for positive and negative evaluation, and meaning intensification, use and stylistic features of IOCs, mechanisms underlying the formation of IOCs and, finally, their lexical composition.