The representation of the back in idiomatic expressions - do idioms value the body?

Objective. Whilst investigating the influence of patients' representations on the impact of teaching in the back school, we took an interest in 1) the place of the back in the French idioms referring to the body; and 2) the m eaning these idioms convey about the back. Methods. The idioms including bo dy part terms were sought on the basis of a compilation of French idioms; i t has to be noted that such a compilation, however excellent it may be, can only offer a partial view of lay conversation. Occurrence of body parts an d of their connotations were assessed. Idioms were classified as positive, negative or neutral, keeping in mind the difficulties of a strict classific ation in such a field. Drawings were then performed on the basis of the res ults of the descriptive analysis. Results. Globally, idiomatic expressions offer a rather negative picture of the body or at least suggest that the bo dy is prominently used to express negative ideas and emotions. This is part icularly striking for the idioms associated with the back. Conclusion. The analysis of idioms referring to the body allows us to 'see with our own eye s' another aspect of the representations of the body and the back, as they are conveyed in the French language. Joint Bone Spine 2000; 67 : 319-25. (C ) 2000 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.