Phraseologisms are integral and vivid turns of speech, idioms. Many of them have been formed in the language so long ago that obsolete words in their composition already make it difficult to understand the meaning, although the stable phrase itself is used and relevant. For example, what does "small small less" mean? To determine the meaning of a phraseological unit, let's deal with the concept itself.
What is phraseologism
All phraseological units have a certain set of features:
- This is a stable indivisible phrase consisting of two or more words.
- Phraseologism has a holistic meaning, often not related to the meaning of its constituent words.
- The entire phraseological unit performs a single syntactic function in the sentence.
Thus, the simplest definition, covering all the signs, is the following: a phraseological phrase is a holistic, stable and indivisible phrase with a figurative meaning.
Stable phrase "mala malaless than": value
This is a phraseological unit that implies a large number and a very small size (for inanimate nouns) or age (for animate nouns). Refers to colloquial, expressive speech. In some dictionaries it is marked as obsolete. The most frequently used phrase is "small small less" in the meaning of "many small children".
Usage examples and semantic meanings
Has several semantic meanings:
- The most common meaning of the idiom "small small less" is "a large number of small children". "After the war, eight children lived in Semyonovna's house, small or small less." This is due to the time of its occurrence, for which having many children was common.
- For inanimate objects, "small small less" can be used to mean very small. "And in the grass, on a rotten stump, a family of mushrooms huddled, small and small less, Yulia's favorite mushrooms."
- Another common semantic meaning is that children belong to the same family. "Your house is small and small, and another one won't matter."
- The value of ranking by height. "Children ran out of the barracks and lined up, small and small smaller, thin and untidy, with hungry and sharp eyes."
Regarding spellingphraseologism, then this stable phrase is unchanged in its grammatical composition. All words are written separately, without hyphens in all usages. Do not confuse with the spelling of adjectives and adverbs: "little little" or "little by little".
Pay attention to the correct pronunciation: small small less - this is how to correctly place stresses in phraseology, in accordance with historical tradition.
The use of phraseological units has certain advantages over free phrases or individual words. They are easily reproduced in the text in the form of speech blanks, simplify the process of communication, give speech expressiveness and figurativeness, enrich it. Therefore, it is necessary to use phraseological units in speech, but at the same time paying attention to the appropriateness of their use and literacy in pronunciation and writing.
