Idioms derived from gestures and facial expressions

Abstract

This paper elaborates on a uniquely derived group of Serbian idioms. This group includes idioms such as klimati glavom 'approve', literally 'nod' slijegati ramcnima 'doubt', lit. 'shrug one's shoulders', isplaziti jezik Tjetired', lit. 'stick out one's tongue', trljati ruke Tзe satisfied after achieving a success', lit. 'rub one's hands', obesiti nos 'be sad', lit. hang down ones nose', izbečiti oči 'be surprised', lit. Tiave big eyes', etc. All these idioms have developed from non-idiomatic phrases used to describe gestures and, less often, facial expressions, which in turn signalize certain psychological reactions. Special attention is devoted to the following idioms: držati komc palce 'keep one's fingers crossed for somebody', pokazati kome bosanski gib 'offend', lit. 'show Bosnian coat-of-arms to somebody', odmcriti od sake do lakta 'offend', lit. 'measure from fist to elbow'; puna šaka brade 'state of being highly satisfied', lit. 'handful of beard/chin'.

U ovom radu razmatraju ce frazemi motivirani pokretima čovekovog tela uključujući i pokrete mišića lica, dakle gestovima i mimikom. Uz neke opšte napomene i klasifikacije, posebna je pažnja posvećena frazemima držati kome palce (palceve ili palčeve), pokazati kome bosanski grb i, sinonimno odm(j)eriti od šake do lakta, te puna šaka brade. Na kraju članka autor se zalaže za celovitiji popis i naučnu obradu frazema gestovno-mimičkog porekla.