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(This is not a duplicate anymore because I edited my question, please read all the information in this body and in all of the comments there are 10 comments so far)

After reading about the difference among informal, colloquial, slang, and vulgar (What's the difference between "informal", "colloquial", "slang", and "vulgar"?), I noticed there was no mention of idiom. Idiom, I would think, falls under the category of colloquial, but this site (https://www.askdifference.com/colloquialism-vs-idiom/#) says there is a difference and I'm having a lot of trouble seeing it because on that site an idiom "is a phrase or an expression that has a figurative, or sometimes literal, meaning. Categorized as formulaic language, an idiom's figurative meaning is different from the literal meaning." and on that same site colloquial is "Everyday language, everyday speech, common parlance, informal language,..." and according two these two definitions it looks like idiom can fall under the category of colloquial because colloquial is "Everyday language, everyday speech,..." With that being said, why doesn't this site just say that idiom falls under the category of colloquial? Would idiom ever fall under the category of slang? If so, please give examples.

(Edit) In addition:

Here are some examples of phrases that are considered idioms to think about:

  • It's a piece of cake
  • It's raining cats and dogs
  • There are other fish in the sea

There is more where that came from. The site I found these idioms was this one: https://www.ef.edu/english-resources/english-idioms/

If you have better examples to think about, please include them in your answer.

(Note: Does anyone know if my question can be reopened? I edited my question. It used to say: Does idiom fall under the category of slang or does idiom only fall under the category of colloquial? I edited it to say: Can all phrases that are considered idioms sometimes fall under the category of slang? Are they under the colloquial category because of everyday use? And because of the my clarification in the comments that led to my edit, my question should no longer be considered a duplicate. Please Help!)

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    None of the above, though some idioms are more colloquial than others, just like any word. Idiom is a term that means a construction that's standard but doesn't make ordinary sense, like kick the bucket or call the wrong number. There are thousands of idioms and they vary all over the lot as to meaning and use. Think of them as frozen chunks of meaning whose structure's been fractured and re-used for something else, like cheeseburger or helipad.
    – John Lawler
    Jul 12, 2021 at 18:31
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    Some strings are fixed phrases (they may be clauses rather than phrases!) like 'go to school', 'fixed phrase'. Some fixed phrases have either unusual use of senses ('kick the bucket', 'ship of the desert') or strained grammar ('all of a sudden', 'make believe', 'used to'): these are idioms. Note that the default sense of the adjective 'idiomatic' is not 'pertaining to/using idioms'.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Jul 12, 2021 at 18:42
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    Some idioms are very formal, and some are very colloquial. Fields like the law and business are full of idioms: "last will and testament", "mens rea", "breaking and entering", "identity theft", "human resources", "bricks and mortar", "call in the receivers", "take a company public". But these aren't colloquial language, or primarily spoken - often they are written and sometimes considered jargon. There's a whole other sphere of idioms connected with politeness: polite ways of asking and replying, set forms of words in formal letters, etc.
    – Stuart F
    Jul 12, 2021 at 22:47
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    All language, including idioms, exists on a continuum from highly formal to colloquial to slang. Some idioms are introduced as formal and become relegated to less formal usage over time. Some are introduced as slang and become colloquial over time. But this is not unique to idioms.
    – GArthurBrown
    Jul 12, 2021 at 23:38
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    'Butt out', 'Go fly a kite', 'Bully for you' ... there are many idioms classifiable as '[A] offensive', '[B] slang', ... '[D] colloquial', ... '[G] informal' in probably any permutation. At the other end of the spectrum, very formal examples such as 'habeas corpus'. There are many lists of idioms on the internet, and even an elementary assessment of formality / slang-or-not / offensive-or-not easily proves (the relevant application of) GArthurBrown's claim above.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Jul 13, 2021 at 12:04

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In a comment John Lawler wrote:

None of the above, though some idioms are more colloquial than others, just like any word. Idiom is a term that means a construction that's standard but doesn't make ordinary sense, like kick the bucket or call the wrong number. There are thousands of idioms and they vary all over the lot as to meaning and use. Think of them as frozen chunks of meaning whose structure's been fractured and re-used for something else, like cheeseburger or helipad.

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