Can a part of a idiom be modified? (“On a roll” becomes “on a big roll”)

Question

Is 'on a big roll' whose  base form is the idiom 'on a roll' acceptable?

Edwin Ashworth · Accepted Answer

Idioms resist (they are, after all, a subset of 'fixed phrases') but do not preclude modification. See Rosamund Moon's monumental treatise 'Fixed Expressions and Idioms in English: A Corpus-based Approach', which contains sections on permitted variations of various kinds. And if a dictionary broadening of, narrowing of, or other adjustment to an idiom can't be found, one has to be careful if one decides to tinker.
But I'd expect a nonce modification here to be 'on a very long roll', which probably wouldn't cause many eyebrows to raise. It's a transparent modification of the original. The idea of 'a long run of success' is already contained within the idiom, so the intensifier is best included. Also, runs of success can be long, but 'big' sounds inappropriate, crude here.
I have to concede that Google ngrams seem to show that 'on a big roll' is used more commonly than 'on a very long roll', but there are quite a few false positives ('on a big roll of paper' ... / 'on a very long roll of film'). There are a few relevant examples, though.

LPH · Answer

If the dictionary you use does not make clear that you can use "big" optionally, then no, the addition is not acceptable. The following entry in the dictionaries would be the certitude the addition is defined for all well informed readers.

to be on a (big) roll

That is not the case from what show a few dictionaries I can check. There is for instance the expression "to be on the rolls"; it has a different meaning that you are not necessarily aware of; suppose you modify "on a roll" and write it "on the rolls"; for the readers who know that form you say something else than what you think. It follows that for one, when making such changes you should first make sure that your change does not correspond to an idiom already used, which means checking the dictionaries. Secondly, if you introduce a variant this way you will puzzle your reader as he/she is used to the usual form; that does not result in efficient communication. There are ways, however, to introduce variants without incurring such problems and here is one.

Things had gone well for me, I was on a roll, on a big roll, if I may say so.

David S · Answer

Sure you can.  This is creativity, using your own words and making a cliche less cliched.  As long as it seems clear that you are referring to the original idiom and tweaking it for intensity or whatever effect you mean.
I can imagine the player on a streak at the casino, or the general winning a series of victories, saying, "I'm on a roll, big-time." and "I'm on a major roll."
But your "I'm on a big roll" example sounds weird to me, maybe because this deviation from the idiom calls to mind other meanings of "roll" such as what you eat for breakfast, or the toilet paper tube.  Or maybe because the implied metaphor, something rolling along, unstopping and with momentum, does not fit with "big".

Can a part of a idiom be modified? (“On a roll” becomes “on a big roll”)

3 Answers

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question