Abstract
The paper addresses most of the current problems in phraseology. General observations on the universal character of idioms and the major aspects of the topic are followed by critical analysis of a prototypical statement about the essential nature of idioms.
Much of the analysis centres around the notions of analogy and anomaly. The paper considers the form of the idiom, its analysability, modifiability and metaphoric character, and then challenges the current views on these.
Next, the discussion of the idiom and its meaning returns to metaphor and hypothetical decomposition and briefly summarises some of the semantic features of idioms. It suggests that the function of idioms, and the issues of their form and meaning, are best revealed through the character and type of their textual anomalies.
The author then presents his views on idioms and their study, referring to analogy and anomaly, regular and irregular language and especially language combinatorics. His approach was tested on data collected for a comprehensive four-volume dictionary of Czech idioms.