Which term refers to expressions that carry non-literal meanings and are widely understood?

• A. Idiom
• B. Utterance
• C. Turn Taking
• D. Vague Language

Answer: (A)

Expressions with non-literal meanings and that are widely understood are idioms. An idiom is a fixed phrase whose meaning isn’t predictable from the individual words themselves. For example, “kick the bucket” doesn’t mean kicking a bucket; it means to die. “Break the ice” isn’t about breaking ice; it means to start a conversation and ease social tension. These phrases are understood by speakers within a language community through convention, not by analyzing the words literally.

The other terms describe different ideas: an utterance is any spoken unit of speech, not specifically about figurative meaning; turn taking refers to who speaks when in a conversation; vague language involves using imprecise or unclear terms. So, the term that best fits expressions with non-literal meanings that everyone familiar with the language recognizes is idiom.