凝り固まる

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 凝り固まる is read as こりかたまる and means “to harden” and “to become set in one's ways”.
• Basic usage: It describes cooled oil hardening and a person becoming fixed on one idea.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Key distinction: 考えに凝り固まる
  • Distinguish physical solidification from figurative rigidity of thought, expressed by 考えに凝り固まる.