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Reference.org
List of English-language idioms of the 19th century
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<p>This is a list of <a href="/facts/Idiom/JaAk3qnW">idioms</a> that were recognizable to literate people in the late-19th century, and have become unfamiliar since. </p><p>As the article <a href="/facts/List_of_idioms_in_the_English_language/mQL9Hq1j">list of idioms in the English language</a> notes, a list of idioms can be useful, since the meaning of an idiom cannot be deduced by knowing the meaning of its constituent words. See that article for a fuller discussion of what an idiom is, and what it is not. In addition, the often-obscure references or shared values that lie behind an idiom will themselves lose applicability over time, although the surviving literature of the period relies on their currency for full understanding. </p>