This paper focuses on the metaphorical phenomenon in English idioms, firstly introducing the concepts of metaphor and idiom. Take the definition of metaphor for example, since the old times, many scholars of different schools have different ideas. In terms of relationship between metaphor and idiom, many scholars carried out their own studies. This paper cites the viewpoints of several famous scholars, like Laoff and Gibbs. This paper emphasizes the metaphorical features of idioms from the ontological metaphors, orientational metaphors and structural metaphors. These three kinds of metaphors have different characteristics, which are explained through examples. The way of citing examples enables the readers to get access to the metaphorical phenomenon in English idioms more directly.
Keywords：idioms; metaphor; schools
Contents
1. Introduction 1
2. The concept of idioms and metaphors 3
2.1The concept of metaphors 3
2.2The concept of idioms 4
3.Research on the relationship between metaphors and idioms 6
3.1Lakoff's study 6
3.2The Gibbs's study 7
3.3 Other scholars’ study 8
4.Metaphorical features of idioms 8
4.1Ontological metaphors and idioms 8
4.2Orientational metaphors and idioms 11
4.3 Structural metaphor and idioms 15
5. Conclusion 19
6.Acknowledgements 20
7.References 21
