What is ASL Idioms ? What are the difference between English and ASL Idioms ?

Indeed once we analyze many signed phrases that some people commonly call "idioms" we do find that those phrases are not idioms and instead are something else. However, if we delve into the definition of the term "idiom" and use that definition to "screen" the whole of ASL phraseology we certainly find more than just "four" ASL idioms. 

The trick is getting people to agree on what is an "idiom" and prevent people from pooh poohing your idiom examples and calling them metaphors or "metaphorical use of language."

Thus we must establish firm definitions (rules) if we are going to play the game:

The definition of a "metaphor" according to dictionary.com is:
1.  A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison, as in “a sea of troubles” or “All the world's a stage” (Shakespeare).

2.  One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol: “Hollywood has always been an irresistible, prefabricated metaphor for the crass, the materialistic, the shallow, and the craven” (Neal Gabler).

So then, how is a metaphor different from an idiom?

The definition of an "idiom":
According to the 1993 Merriam-Webster dictionary, an  idiom is “an expression in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either grammatically or in having a meaning that cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements” (575).

Ah ha!  There we go.  The ASL idiom "TRAIN GONE" means "no, I'm not going to repeat what I said."  It isn't a metaphor because "the leaving of a train" is sufficiently different from the idea of "someone not repeating themselves" that you really can't make a direct connection between the two. 

To be able to understand what is meant by an idiom you have to possess "insider" knowledge. You can't just look up the meaning of the individual words in a dictionary and piece together the meaning of an idiom.

You generally can figure out a metaphor without context or insider knowledge.  It is likely that a person could figure out that the metaphor "sea of troubles" means to have a lot of problems.  But without context or insider knowledge a would be unlikely to figure out that the idiom "kicked the bucket" means someone "He died."  You might assume that someone was mad or that he messed up -- but died? No.  So, an phrase becomes an idiom (and not just a metaphor) when the phrase's meaning moves so far from the literal interpretation that it makes no sense. 

Consider this conversation about an idiom:

Bob:  Hey John, what does the phrase "He kicked the bucket" mean?
John:  Well, Bob, it means "He died."
Bob: That doesn't make any sense. What does a bucket have to do with dying?!?
John: I don't know. It's just an idiom.

Compare that with this conversation about a metaphor:

Bob: Hey, John, what does the phrase "He passed away" mean?
John:  Well, Bob, it means "He died."
Bob: Eh, I don't get it.
John: Well, it's like you are saying his spirit has passed on to the next life.
Bob: Oh, I get it. "He passed away" is saying that dying is like "passing through a door into another realm." That is sort of poetic.
John: Yah, it is metaphorical.

In a metaphor the meaning has been abstracted but held on to.
In an idiom the meaning has been obliterated and replaced.

Here are some ASL idioms for your consideration. 
[Note: Do not copy and paste this list to some other website without permission. And then even if you get permission you need to be giving credit and a link back to Lifeprint. Don't take the list and make a few changes and call it your own. I'm working on this as an article for eventual peer reviewed publication.]
1.  TRAIN GONE = missed opportunity to know what is being talked about
2.  CIGARETTE GONE = missed opportunity to know what is being talked about.  Note, this is a clever twist on the "train gone" idiom since some people say, TRAIN BACK!  But you can't bring back a smoked cigarette.
3.  FINISH TOUCH = been there, have physically been to a place
4.  FISH = "I am done. It is over."  This is a pun / idiom based on the fact that many Deaf when doing the sign for "FINISH" make a mouth movement that looks as if they were saying the word "fish."
5. BASEMENT = Stayed home, didn't go out.
6. "BY-A-HAIR" (pull a hair) = "Whew! That was a close one!" The signer does a sign that depicts the "pulling of a single hair" but the actual meaning has nothing to do with the pulling of a single piece of hair.
7. FISH-SWALLOW = gullible.  The signer does a sign which depicts the swallowing of a fish but the actual meaning is that someone is gullible.
8. BLOW-BRAINS-OUT = Gee, oh wow, I can't believe that it (a certain piece of information) isn't coming to my mind. I know this but can't think of the right word, or information.
9.  SCRATCH-FOREHEAD = I will never forget that. / "Scarred for life."
10. STRICT = "hard nosed" = unyielding, not flexible.  This sign is interesting because the meaning of the sign is interpreted as "strict." You see the sign and you think "strict" -- you don't think of it as being an idiom. But if you consider the likely history of the sign you can see that it is a combination of the signs "HARD" and "NOSE." The phrase, "He (or she) is hard nosed," is obviously an idiom since the literal meaning has nothing to do with having a "hard nose."

Debatable idioms:
1.  HEARING SCHOOL =  "public school"  This is somewhat of an idiom to Hearing people who don't understand ASL fully.  But it makes perfect sense to "Deafs" (Deaf people).

Idioms are supposed to consist of "more than one word." So how is it that a single sign qualifies as an idiom?  I'm not saying that a single sign in isolation qualifies as an idiom. "BASEMENT" out of context doesn't qualify as an idiom, but if a signer asks, "PAST WEEKEND what-DO YOU?" and gets a reply of "BASEMENT" that reply if interpreted literally would mean "I was in the basement all weekend" -- which is obviously more than a single word but has an actual meaning of "I stayed home and didn't go anywhere" -- which has nothing to do with an actual "basement."



Source:  www.lifeprint.com