This unique and thoroughly revised collection contains over 1,100 of the most widely used proverbs in English, drawing on the resources of the Oxford Languages team for the most up-to-date research. Lively and compelling, it is filled with favourites - old and new - with a strong emphasis on meanings of proverbs catalogued.

From “all systems go” to “senior moment”—a comprehensive reference to idiomatic English. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms explores the meanings and origins of idioms that may not make literal sense but play an important role in the language—including phrasal verbs such as kick back, proverbs such as too many cooks spoil the broth, interjections such as tough beans, and figures of speech such as elephant in the room. With extensive revisions that reflect new historical scholarship and changes in the English language, this second edition defines over 10,000 idiomatic expressions in greater detail than any other dictionary available today—a remarkable reference for those studying the English language, or anyone who enjoys learning its many wonderful quirks and expressions. “Invaluable as a teaching tool.” —School Library Journal

A Dictionary of Anglo-American Proverbs & Proverbial Phrases Found in Literary Sources of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries is a unique collection of proverbial language found in literary contexts. It includes proverbial materials from a multitude of plays, (auto)biographies of well-known actors like Britain's Laurence Olivier, songs by William S. Gilbert or Lorenz Hart, and American crime stories by Leslie Charteris. Other authors represented in the dictionary are Horatio Alger, Margery Allingham, Samuel Beckett, Lewis Carroll, Raymond Chandler, Benjamin Disraeli, Edward Eggleston, Hamlin Garland, Graham Greene, Thomas C. Haliburton, Bret Harte, Aldous Huxley, Sinclair Lewis, Jack London, George Orwell, Eden Phillpotts, John B. Priestley, Carl Sandburg, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Jesse Stuart, Oscar Wilde, and more. Many lesser-known dramatists, songwriters, and novelists are included as well, making the contextualized texts to a considerable degree representative of the proverbial language of the past two centuries. While the collection contains a proverbial treasure trove for paremiographers and paremiologists alike, it also presents general readers interested in folkloric, linguistic, cultural, and historical phenomena with an accessible and enjoyable selection of proverbs and proverbial phrases.

This unique and authoritative dictionary contains over 1,100 of the most widely used proverbs in English and uses research from the Oxford English Corpus, the world's largest language databank. This edition has been revised and fully updated and includes numerous entirely new entries. It also features expanded coverage of foreign language proverbs currently in use in English. With an emphasis on examples of usage, including the earliest written evidence of its use, this A-Z guide provides a thorough - and fascinating - history for every entry. Arranged in A-Z format and with a useful thematic index, A Dictionary of Proverbs is ideal for browsing and perfectly suited for quick reference. Look up your old favourites, learn punchy new expressions to get your point across, and find the answer to that crossword clue. Seeing is believing: find proverbs relevant to every aspect of life in this entertaining and informative collection.

'This book deserves a place in your bookcase next to Harari's Sapiens. It's every bit as fascinating and is surely destined to be just as successful' Julian Norton From the plains of ancient Mesopotamia to the vast sheep farms of modern-day Australia, sheep have been central to the human story. Since our our Neolithic ancestors' first forays into sheep-rearing nearly 11,000 years ago, these remarkable animals have fed us, clothed us, changed our diet and language and financed the conquest of large swathes of the earth. Sally Coulthard weaves this fascinating story into a vivid and colourful tapestry of engaging anecdotes and extraordinary ovine facts, whose multiple strands celebrate just how pivotal these woolly animals are to almost every aspect of human society and culture. This title was published also in the United States under the title Follow the Flock. 'A snappy, stimulating book, and certainly not just for shepherds' Mail on Sunday 'Full of fascinating social history' Independent 'You won't look at a sheep in the same way again' Country Living

This dictionary aims to help users to find the most appropriate word to use on a wide range of occasions. It is designed in particular for students, those writing reports, letters and speeches, and crossword solvers, but is also useful as a general word reference. Special features include: an alphabetical A-Z listing; numbered senses for words with more than one meaning; British and American variants; and specially marked colloquial uses.

Law-related words and phrases abound in our everyday language, often without our being aware of their origins or their particular legal significance: "boilerplate," "jailbait," "pound of flesh," "rainmaker," "the third degree." This insightful and entertaining book reveals the unknown stories behind familiar legal expressions that come from sources as diverse as Shakespeare, vaudeville, and Dr. Seuss. Separate entries for each expression follow no prescribed formula but instead focus on the most interesting, enlightening, and surprising aspects of the words and their evolution. Popular myths and misunderstandings are explored and exploded, and the entries are augmented with historical images and humorous sidebars.Lively and unexpected, "Lawtalk" will draw a diverse array of readers with its abundance of linguistic, legal, historical, and cultural information. Those readers should be forewarned: upon finishing one entry, there is an irresistible temptation to turn to another, and yet another . . .

Margaret Oliphant achieved fame during the Victorian era for her masterpieces of domestic realism, historical novels and spellbinding tales of the supernatural. This eBook presents a comprehensive range of Oliphant’s works, with the complete Chronicles of Carlingford, the complete Stories of the Seen and Unseen, numerous illustrations, rare texts appearing in digital print for the first time, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 2) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Oliphant’s life and works * Concise introductions to the novels and other texts * 79 novels, with individual contents tables * Rare novels available in no other collection, including Oliphant’s first novels MARGARET MAITLAND and CHRISTIAN MELVILLE * Rare supernatural novels appearing in digital publishing for the first time: DIES IRAE and THE LADY’S WALK * Images of how the books were first published, giving your eReader a taste of the original texts * Excellent formatting of the texts * The complete ‘Chronicles of Carlingford’ series, inspired by Trollope’s Barsetshire books, with special index and links – includes the very rare short story ‘The Executor’ * Special chronological and alphabetical contents tables for the short stories * Features the complete Stories and Novels of the Seen and Unseen – first time in digital print * Includes a selection of Oliphant’s non-fiction * Features a bonus biography * Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres * UPDATED with 60 more books – including 56 novels, 2 short story collections, 1 non-fiction work and an autobiography CONTENTS: The Chronicles of Carlingford Stories of the Seen and Unseen The Novels Passages in the Life of Mrs. Margaret Maitland (1849) Merkland (1850) The Quiet Heart (1854) Christian Melville (1855) The Athelings (1857) The Days of My Life (1857) The Laird of Norlaw (1858) The House on the Moor (1861) The Doctor’s Family (1861) The Last of the Mortimers (1862) Salem Chapel (1862) Heart and Cross (1863) The Perpetual Curate (1863) A Son of the Soil (1865) Miss Marjoribanks (1865) Madonna Mary (1867) Brownlows (1868) The Minister’s Wife (1869) The Three Brothers (1870) John (1870) Squire Arden (1871) Ombra (1872) At His Gates (1872) May (1873) A Rose in June (1874) For Love and Life (1874) Whiteladies (1875) The Story of Valentine and His Brother (1875) The Curate in Charge (1876) Phoebe, Junior (1876) Mrs. Arthur (1877) Young Musgrave (1877) The Primrose Path (1878) A Beleaguered City (1879) Within the Precincts (1879) He That Will Not When He May (1880) The Greatest Heiress in England (1880) Harry Joscelyn (1881) In Trust (1881) The Ladies Lindores (1883) The Lady’s Walk (1883) Sir Tom (1883) Hester (1883) It was a Lover and His Lass (1883) Madam (1884) The Wizard’s Son (1884) Old Lady Mary (1884) The Prodigals and Their Inheritance (1885) Oliver’s Bride (1886) Effie Ogilvie (1886) The Son of His Father (1886) A Poor Gentleman (1886) A House Divided Against Itself (1886) A Country Gentleman and His Family (1886) Joyce (1888) Cousin Mary (1888) Lady Car (1889) The Mystery of Mrs. Blencarrow (1890) Sons and Daughters (1890) The Duke’s Daughter (1890) Kirsteen (1890) The Fugitives (1890) The Railway Man and His Children (1891) The Story of a Governess (1891) The Heir Presumptive and the Heir (1891) The Marriage of Elinor (1891) The Cuckoo in the Nest (1892) Diana Trelawny (1892) The Sorceress (1893) A House in Bloomsbury (1894) Lady William (1894) Who Was Lost and Is Found (1894) Sir Robert’s Fortune (1894) Old Mr. Tredgold (1895) Two Strangers (1895) Dies Irae (1895) The Unjust Steward (1896) The Two Marys (1896) The Ways of Life (1897) The Shorter Fiction The Executor (1861) The Rector (1861) The Land of Darkness (1888) Neighbours on the Green (1889) A Widow’s Tale and Other Stories (1898) Complete Stories of the Seen and Unseen The Short Stories List of Short Stories in Chronological Order List of Short Stories in Alphabetical Order The Non-Fiction Royal Edinburgh (1890) Historical Characters in the Reign of Queen Anne (1894) The Makers of Modern Rome (1895) Jeanne d’Arc (1896) The Sisters Brontë (1897) The Autobiography The Autobiography and Letters of Mrs. M. O. W. Oliphant (1899) The Biography Margaret Oliphant (1901) by Richard Garnett

Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.

This Dictionary contains over 50,000 proverbs, in some 70 European languages and dialects, arranged in 2,500 sets. It is the fruits of over 40 years of collection and research, the only collection of proverbs on anything like this scale ever to be published anywhere in the world. Emanuel Strauss has trawled through innumerable collections of proverbs in all languages, from early printed books and rare items to the latest theses and journals, and grouped together many thousands of proverbs in sets of equivalent meaning. Comprehensive indexes for each language provide access to any proverb by way of its key words. A critical bibliography musters some 500 items, from incunabula to the current decade.