The period of Prohibition gave rise to several idioms pertaining to the organized crime. Many Americans first heard about this type of crime in the early 1920s when it was started by notorious Al Capone with bootlegging in Chicago. Later he came to control much of illegal activities: extortion, gambling, prostitution, narcotics, etc. (Flexner, 1982: 435). The activity of gangsters is reflected in the idiom “take (someone) for a ride”, which had a variant take (someone) for a one-way ride, the etymological meaning was "to kill someone in a moving car"; it was originally gangster's slang reflecting a common practice of exterminating a person without attracting attention. Metaphorical meaning is: "to trick, chit or deceive (someone)": He doesn't actually work for a charity at all, so the people who have sent him money have been taken for a ride.

“Give (someone) the works" metaphorically means "to give someone the full treatment: They've certainly given her the works at the hairdresser's - she's had her hair cut, tinted and permed." The prototype meant, "to kill someone".

Though the prototype of the idiom “stool-pigeon" meaning "a pigeon tied to a stool and used as a decoy" goes back to the 1830's, the spread and active use refers to the 1920's (Flexner, 1982: 436). Idiomatic meaning is "an informer or spy especially for the police: The police received information about the planned robbery from a stoolpigeon. "

A later period can be seen in the idiom “on the breadline" meaning "with barely enough money to live on: The widow and her children were living on the breadline." The idiom reminds about The Great Depression (1929 - the late 1930's). But the worst period was between 1929 - 1933, when unemployment reached 13 million people in 1933, which comprised one fourth of the labor force. It is at that time that soup kitchens were opened by such organizations as Red Cross and Salvation Army in the United States, the poorest people queued in breadlines. So, the prototype of the idiom meant literally "queues of destitute people waiting for free food from soup-kitchens, especially run by the government. "

To sum up, I would like to underline that American studies perspective enabled to find cultural elements in idioms which store the information about historic events, ethnographic details, ways of life of different periods in the history of the U. S. A. Albeit history is only implied in the idioms under study but the information is very important for the students majoring in American studies as well as for those who are interested in the United States.

Chapter 2. Differences and Usage in American English and British English

If you look up the word idiom in Webster, you will be given the following definition: Idiom is an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent element as kick the bucket, hang one's head etc., or from the general grammatical rules of language, as the table round for the round table, and which is not a constituent of a larger expression of like characteristics. This definition seems a bit dry and doesn't really tell anything about the function of idioms in English language.

In the old days English idioms rarely originated from any other form of English than British English. (French was also a popular source of idioms.) Nowadays American English is in this position. It is hard to find an AmE idiom that has not established itself in "worldwide English" (usually BrE). This is not the case with British English idioms which are not as widespread. It has to be remembered that it is hard to say which idioms are actively used in English and which are dying out or have already died. Idioms are constantly dying and new-ones are born.

Some idioms may have gone through radical changes in meaning. The phrase - There is no love lost between them - nowadays means that some people dislike one another. Originally, when there was only the British English form, it meant exactly the opposite. The shift in meaning is yet unexplained. All dialects of English have different sets of idioms and situations where a given idiom can be used. American English and British English may not, in this respect, be the best possible pair to compare because they both have been developing into the same direction, at least where written language is concerned, since the Second World War. The reason that there is so much American influence in British English is the result of the following:

· Magnitude of publishing industry in the U. S.

· Magnitude of mass media influence on a worldwide scale

· Appeal of American popular culture on language and habits worldwide

· International political and economic position of the U. S.

All these facts lead to the conclusion that new idioms usually originate in the U. S. and then become popular in so-called "worldwide English". This new situation is completely different from the birth of American English as a "variant" of British English. When America was still under the rule of the Crown, most idioms originated from British English sources. Of course there were American English expressions and idioms too, before American English could be defined as dialect of English. Some examples of these early American English idioms follow:

"To bark up the wrong tree." (Originally from raccoon-hunting in which dogs were used to locate raccoons up in trees.)

"Paddle one's own canoe." (This is an American English idiom of the late 18th Century and early 19th Century.)

Some of these early American idioms and expressions were derived from the speech of the American natives like the phrase that "someone speaks with a forked tongue" and the "happy hunting ground" above. These idioms have filtered to British English through centuries through books, newspapers and most recently through powerful mediums like radio, TV and movies.

Where was the turning point? When did American culture take the leading role and start shaping the English language and especially idiomatic expressions? There is a lot of argument on this subject. Most claim that the real turning point was the Second World War. This could be the case. During the War English-speaking nations were united against a common enemy and the U. S. took the leading role. In these few years and a decade after the War American popular culture first established itself in British English. Again new idioms were created and old ones faded away. The Second World War was the turning point in many areas in life. This may also be the case in the development of the English language.

In the old days the written language (novels, poems, plays and the Bible) was the source from which idioms were extracted. This was the case up until WWII. After the war new mediums had established themselves in English-speaking society, there was a channel for the American way of life and the popular culture of the U. S. TV, movies and nowadays the interactive medium have changed the English language more to the American English direction. Some people in the Europe speak the Mid-Atlantic English, halfway from the British English to American English.

The influence of American English can even be seen in other European languages. In Finland, we are adopting and translating AmE proverbs, idioms and expressions. It can be said that the spoken language has taken the leading role over the written and the only reason for this is TV and radio. Most proverbs and idioms that have been adopted to British English from American English are of spoken origin. This is a definite shift from the days before WWII. What will this development do to the English language? Will it decrease its value? This could be argued, but the answer would still be no. Languages develop and change. So is the case with English language and idioms.

2.2 Main differences in usage

What about English idioms? I could find a lot of them, but I'll give examples only about some of them which I consider the most interesting and I'd recommend my classmates to use them working with British literature classes, making analyses of different creative works and writing project tasks. Moreover, almost all of these drawings were made by me.

a chicken and egg situation. This is an informal expression, which describes a situation or problem in which it is impossible to decide which of two things was the cause of the other. For example: The connection between lack of education and poverty is a chicken and egg situation. Are people poor because they have no education or do they not get an education because they are poor?

The expression comes from the idea of a chicken and its egg. Does the egg come from the chicken or the chicken from the egg?

bread and butter. When we use the idiom "bread and butter" we mean someone's livelihood or income. For example: I don't especially like doing this job, but it's my bread and butter.

Idiomatic expressions are a vital component of English in particular. The common idioms will increase our understanding, though most of us instinctively avoid trying to use them. In my work I offer you some idioms around themes such as health, school, accommodation, family relationship, everyday life. I've selected them from different books and Internet sources according to my point of view and my understanding. I hope it will be a good stream for teachers and students. (Appendix 2)

I had a narrow escape this morning. I was cycling to work when a lorry knocked me off my bike. The driver stopped and got out to see if I was all right. He was as white as a sheet and I was shaking like a leaf. Fortunately I had landed on some grass and I wasn't hurt.

To have a narrow escape - to be very close to danger or something terrible but manage to escape

To be/go as white as a sheet - to be very pale in the face, especially because of illness or great fear

Shaking like a leaf - to tremble with fear or great anxiety

3.2 Examples of idioms from my textbook