In phrase structure grammars such as generative grammar, the verb phrase is one headed by a verb. It may be composed of only a single verb, but typically it consists of combinations of main and auxiliary verbs, plus optional specifiers, complements (not including subject complements), and adjuncts.he third example presents three elements, the main verb gave, the noun Mary, and the noun phrase a book, all which comprise the verb phrase. Note, the verb phrase described here corresponds to the predicate of traditional grammar.
In Reply to: Origin of phrase waiting for the other shoe to drop posted by C Pfeil on October 26, 2001.
The meaning and origin of the expression: Cold feet. Cold feet. Meaning. To 'get cold feet' is to become disheartened or timid, losing one's previous enthusiasm or courage. Origin. Why this term was coined isn't at all clear. On the face of it there doesn't seem to be any obvious connection with the literal meaning of cold feet and the meaning of the phrase. There are a couple of citations of the phrase from 1896, including this from Stephen Crane's novel Maggie, a girl of the streets, 1896: