Every Evil Hides a Blessing–The Phenomenon of Evil inCroatian Dialect Phraseology

Abstract

In phraseology, a greater number of negatively connoted idioms are observed, which express undesirable attributes, behaviours, traits, or values. This study focuses specifically on idioms from this spectrum that convey malice or evilness. Separately, idioms containing the lexeme “evil” in their structure are also examined. The problem of evil is thus approached at the level of expression and content, establishing its conceptualisation and motivation in phraseology. In this context, the idiom is understood in a broader sense, and examples of other shorter forms, such as proverbs, are also included. The aim of the study is to determine the meanings realised by the component “evil” in Croatian phraseology, as well as which components are most frequent in its expression, thereby shaping human perception of certain phenomena and realities that surround them. The material presented in the study is partly excerpted from written sources and partly collected through targeted field research. The presented examples cover a wider speaking area, that is, the material from all three Croatian dialects is attested. This method establishes the distribution of specific idioms, that is, their attestation at the level of the Croatian language as a whole (and beyond) or exclusively within a particular dialect. It should be emphasised that regionally specific idioms can only be collected and identified through targeted fieldwork, which further highlights the importance of dialectal phraseology research within the Croatian language.