set phrase
set phrase — 名詞
1. a group of words that people say or write in one unchanging order, so you cannot
固定詞組
用詞順序固定、不能隨意更動的片語
a group of words that people say or write in one unchanging order, so you cannot swap, drop, or add words without it sounding wrong.
Rachid taught his class that "by and large" is a set phrase you should never change.
Rachid 告訴班上同學，「by and large」是個固定詞組，絕對不能更改。
describing a fixed multi-word expression that cannot be altered
Learners often break a set phrase by saying "make a decision quickly" as "do a decision".
學生常把固定詞組「make a decision」說成「do a decision」，破壞了原有說法。
set phrase contrasted with a wrong substitution
The greeting "how do you do" is a set phrase, so Daichi kept all four words together.
問候語「how do you do」是固定詞組，所以 Daichi 把四個字完整保留。
naming a specific set phrase and its fixed wording
Editors mark any altered set phrase in red, since readers expect the usual wording.
編輯會把被改動過的固定詞組標成紅色，因為讀者習慣常見的寫法。
passive-leaning context for the term in editing
Antonia listed twenty set phrases her students had to learn word for word before the exam.
Antonia 列出二十個固定詞組，要學生在考試前逐字背起來。
plural form: set phrases learned as whole units
- common set phrase
- learn set phrases
- use a set phrase
- fixed expression
everyday near-equivalent; both mean wording that does not change
- idiom
narrower: an idiom's meaning cannot be guessed from its words, while a set phrase may be transparent
- collocation
looser: words that often go together but still allow some variation
用法筆記
Distinguish from a free combination of words: a set phrase keeps a fixed form, while ordinary phrases let you change the words freely. Often the meaning of the whole differs from its separate words.