Complainable Matters: The Use of Idiomatic Expressions in Making Complaints

Abstract

Idiomatic, proverbial, and other figurative expressions are quite frequently employed by speakers in ordinary talk. This paper reports the findings of a study of the occurrence of idiomatic, cliche, and proverbial expressions in ordinary talk-that is, expressions which are recognizably formulaic and largely figurative. This analysis revealed that idioms are used, not randomly, but most notably when one speaker is complaining to another. In this sequential environment the particularly egregious character of the matter being complained about is portrayed through an idiom. In view of the role complaints play in casting private troubles or anxieties into the public domain, it is significant that typically a complaint is formulated idiomatically at a point where there is some conflict or lack of alignment between complainant and recipient. Thus idioms are introduced in "inauspicious environments" where, up to that point, recipients have withheld sympathizing or affiliating with a complainant. Idioms have a special robustness which lends them the functions of summarizing the complaint in a way that enhances its legitimacy.