Idioms should not be confused with other figures of speech such as metaphors, which evoke an image by use of implicit comparisons ( e.g., ' the man of steel') similes, which evoke an image by use of explicit comparisons ( e.g., ' faster than a speeding bullet') or hyperbole, which exaggerates an image beyond truthfulness ( e.g., ' more powerful than a locomotive'). ' kick a bucket' only retains the literal meaning of the phrase but not the idiomatic meaning). To evoke the desired effect in the listener, idioms require a precise replication of the phrase: not even articles can be used interchangeably (e.g. Furthermore, they would understand when each meaning is being used in context. For example, an English speaker would understand the phrase ' kick the bucket' to mean ' to die' – and also to actually kick a bucket. By another definition, an idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example ' kick the bucket' below).
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest i.e.
