This Dictionary is part of the Oxford Reference Collection: using sustainable print-on-demand technology to make the acclaimed backlist of the Oxford Reference programme perennially available in hardback format. What is a ham-and-egger? What are Anglo-Saxon attitudes? Who or what is liable to jump the shark? Who first tried to nail jelly to the wall? The answers to these and many more questions are in this fascinating book. Here in one volume you can track down the stories behind the names and sayings you meet, whether in classic literature or today's news. Drawing on Oxford's unrivalled bank of reference and language online resources, this dictionary covers classical and other mythologies, history, religion, folk customs, superstitions, science and technology, philosophy, and popular culture. Extensive cross referencing makes it easy to trace specific information, while every page points to further paths to explore. A fascinating slice of cultural history, and a browser's delight from start to finish. What is the fog of war? Who first wanted to spend more time with one's family? When was the Dreamtime? How long since the first cry of Women and children first? Where might you find dark matter? Would you want the Midas touch? Should you worry about grey goo?

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable is a major new reference work, providing a wealth of fascinating and informative background detail for over 20,000 phrases and allusions used in English today. Drawing from Oxford's unrivalled bank of language and quotation on-line resources, thishighly browsable pot pourri of allusive terms includes entries from a broad range of topics, from classical mythology, history, religion, folk customs, superstitions, science and technology, philosophy, and popular culture. Biographies of both real people and fictional characters are included also. From Barbie doll to the big bang theory, 'Every dog has his day' to seven-league boots, the dictionary gives reliable, up-to-date insights into the origins and history of words and phrases. Numerous entries are enlivened with illustrative quotations, and ample cross-referencing.

Explores the stories behind names and sayings that can be found in classic literature or today's news

There is a queue, the phone is ringing, the photocopier has jammed and your enquirer is waiting for a response. You are stressed and you can feel the panic rising. Where do you go to find the information you need to answer the question promptly and accurately? Answering queries from users is one of the most important services undertaken by library and information staff. Yet it is also one of the most difficult, least understood subjects. There are still very few materials available to help frontline staff - often paraprofessional - develop their reader enquiry skills. This award-winning sourcebook is an essential guide to where to look to find the answers quickly. It is designed as a first point of reference for library and information practitioners, to be depended upon if they are unfamiliar with the subject of an enquiry - or wish to find out more. It is arranged in an easily searchable, fully cross-referenced A-Z list of around 150 of the subject areas most frequently handled at enquiry desks. Each subject entry lists the most important information sources and where to locate them, including printed and electronic sources, relevant websites and useful contacts for referral purposes. The authors use their extensive experience in reference work to offer useful tips, warn of potential pitfalls, and spotlight typical queries and how to tackle them. This new edition has been brought right up-to-date with all sources checked for currency and many new ones added. The searchability is enhanced by a comprehensive index to make those essential sources even easier to find - saving you valuable minutes! Readership: Offering quick and easy pointers to a multitude of information sources, this is an invaluable reference deskbook for all library and information staff in need of a speedy answer, in reference libraries, subject departments and other information units.

Many of us don't know what a homonym is, yet we use them every day. The Wordsworth Dictionary of Homonyms, the first of its type published in Britain, will bring enlightenment. Do you get confused between 'to', 'too' and 'two'? Do you need to know the five definitions of 'fluke'? If so, then this is the book for you. A boon for crossword addicts, a treasure trove for punsters and an endless source of fascination for anyone interested in the English language.

Offering coverage of over 6,000 slang words and expressions from the Cockney 'abaht' to the American term 'zowie', this is the most authoritative dictionary of slang from the 20th and 21st centuries.

Offers entries for over six thousand idioms, including seven hundred new to this edition, and provides background information, additional cross-references, and national variants.

How to Write is an introductory guide to writing, aimed at people who think they can't write, or for whom writing is an ordeal. Broken down into short topic-based chapters on everything from beginning to revising, it demystifies the writing process by taking the reader through each stage necessary to bring a piece of writing to a decent finish. The book also offers a wealth of invaluable practical considerations, including when and where to write, when to printout and when to edit onscreen, what type of pen works well for revisions, and the hazards of the paperclip. The author is a seasoned writer whose encouraging but uncompromising guidance will delight as well as instruct. Offering practical advice in a lucid, no-nonsense style, How to Write will be ideal for both students and professional people who need to write during the course of their work.

If, advised essayist and critic William Hazlitt, we wish to know the force of human genius we should read Shakespeare. For if anyone profoundly understood the human condition in all its forms, it was he. Lovably drunken rogues, dysfunctional kings, cowardly preening braggarts, to nobly inspiring heroes. The remarkable series of plays engaged in under The Regal Throne moves from high political intrigue to lowlife bar-room badinage. From self-indulgent regal decline to elevated and inspirational kingly valour. From adolescent delinquency and father-son tensions to exaltedly noble redemption. The playwright launches us on our journey with the narcissistic Richard, rapidly sowing seeds of his own decline with his callously imperious behaviour. And the ruthlessly astute Bolingbroke returning from his banishment to take the sovereign's Crown and then his life. But Bolingbroke as Henry IV has little chance to enjoy his prize. For his tyranny breeds rebellion. Meanwhile in Cheapside, (and to his father's chagrin), the future Henry V, as adolescent Prince Hal, disports himself in seedy taverns amongst a gallery of Hogarthian lowlifes (including the comedic heavyweight Falstaff), while quietly planning a shrewdly redemptive personal remake as the exemplary war hero, Henry V. A rich tapestry indeed. But whilst Shakespeare's early modern English is reasonably understandable, many words and references aren't. For slang is constantly shape-shifting. And, particularly with Shakespeare's bar-room banter, it's helpful to know just what the characters are saying to and about each other. The author explains each scene of all four plays in detail with copious quotations from Shakespeare's text throughout and substantial hypertext explanatory notes. The Regal Throne is an invaluable companion for all who set sail on this vibrant Shakespearean voyage into power, politics, and ribaldry.

Divided into dedicated categories about the subjects most meaningful to librarians, this valuable resource reviews 500 texts across all major fields. Drawing on their collective experience in reference services and sifting through nearly 30,000 reviews in ARBAonline, editors Steven Sowards, associate director for collection at Michigan State University Libraries, and Juneal Chenoweth, editor of American Reference Books Annual, curated this collection of titles, most of which have been published since 2000, to serve collections and reference librarians in academic and public libraries. From the Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the Social Sciences and Encyclopedia of the Civil War to the Encyclopedia of Physics, Encyclopedia of Insects, and Taylor's Encyclopedia of Garden Plants to the formidable Oxford English Dictionary, The Reference Librarian's Bible encompasses every subject imaginable and will be your first stop for choosing and evaluating your library's collections as well as for answering patrons' questions.