Idiom, liknelser och kollokationer i två finska ordböcker

Resumé

This article surveys the representation of various idiomatic expressions in two monolingual Finnish dictionaries. The discussion will focus on the following three issues:
1) how to recognize what expressions are idiomatic,
2) how to pick the idiomatic expressions that are worthy of a mention in a dictionary, and
3) how to choose the citation form(s) for a given idiomatic expression.

First, the question of a citation form will be illustrated with the help of verb phrase idioms that allow variation. Secondly, a great number of similes in actual usage will throw light on the selection problem, and finally, a sample of state expressions will show how gradual the differences are between idiomatic expressions and mere collocational tendencies. As a final point, we will briefly look at the problems in enriching a general dictionary database with phraseological information.