set phrase

Definition

An established expression whose wording is subject to little or no variation, and which may or may not be idiomatic.

Etymology

From set + phrase.

Example Sentences

• "Bally remarks in passing, as Hall does not, that the inversion in toujours est-il que is part of a set phrase and hence invariable."
• "American courts sometimes use cherry in place of apple, but the latter fruit vastly predominates. The American version is that rare set phrase that is not so well set, variations on the phrase being more common than the main phrase itself."
• "If it proves clearly unfeasible to make the audience laugh at a thin and far-fetched joke, it is always better to change the way the joke works . . . for instance, a pun based on the speaker's taking literally some set phrase or metaphor with a pun based on phonetic similarity."

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