The origin of modern English set expressions

Golikova Tatiana

The article deals with the history of the origin of a number of English and American set phrases, idioms, proverbs. It studies phraseological units that contain proper names as well as phraseological units with an interesting background. The findings are made on analysis of a large number of examples of English and American idioms. In conclusion an assumption is made about the functions of idioms in fiction and in everyday talk, as well as in the language as a whole. The interpretation of idioms and studying the history of their appearance is topical because it contributes to a study of national and cultural specifics of the language and finally promotes a success of cross-cultural communication. The material of the research is also new and original: it is rich in idioms which are not very popular and can be unknown to the general reader.

Keywords:idiom, phraseological unit, national and cultural specifics of a language, cross-cultural communication, folk wisdom.