Frozen Expressions and Semantic Representation
This paper is concerned with how to represent the meanings of frozen expressions. It considers the argument structures of lexically filled idiomatic expressions such as kick the bucket first and then the semantic representation of lexically open idiomatic expressions such as the -er ... the -er [function type], let alone... [NPI type] and why not ... [speech act type] and other grammatically frozen constructions. The argument structures of the lexically filled (methonymic and metaphorical) idioms are shifted from those of their literal conterparts, retaining the minimal aspects of compositionality