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This absorbing and accessible A-Z explains the meanings of allusions in modern English, from Adonis to Zorro, Tartarus to Tarzan, and Rubens to Rambo. Fascinating to browse through, the book is based on an extensive reading programme that has identified the most commonly-used allusions. For the third edition all entries have been reviewed, revised, and thoroughly updated to ensure the consistency of coverage of allusions and references. New to this edition is the inclusion within each entry of a short summary definition for the allusion or reference, ideal for quick reference, and at least one illustrative citation from a wide range of source materials in almost every entry: from Aldous Huxley to Philip Roth, Emily Brontë to The Guardian Unlimited. A useful thematic index allows searching for allusions related to a specific topic, e.g. at Intelligence find Aristotle, Einstein, and Spock, and at Hair find Medusa, Samson, and Shirley Temple.

This concise edition of the definitive 3-volume Dictionary of European Proverbs constitutes a fascinating collection of proverbs in 29 languages. The entries are arranged alphabetically according to the English equivalent, allowing the reader to identify common trends easily and quickly. * All proverbs listed in original language * 29 European languages featured * Includes all proverbs in current use * Thoroughly checked by language specialists to ensure accuracy. The Concise Dictionary of European Proverbs is based on over 40 years in-depth research by the compiler. It is an essential reference source for linguists, ethnologists and folklorists, and of interest to anyone wanting to know about the origins, development and current usage of the proverb. Emanuel Straussis a world-renowned expert on proverbs.

For those times when “you blackguard!” just won’t do, Sinister Wisdom supplies an amazing array of crude, vulgar, offensive, scurrilous, lewd, and otherwise unprintable denunciations. Organized thematically and translated into more than 69 languages, it contains an alphabetical listing of every conceivable (and inconceivable) slur and insult, from comments on mothers' peculiar anatomy and hobbies, to suggestions on where to go and how, to observations on how others spend their solitary moments. Appendices cover blasphemies, bodily functions, sexual deviations, and variations on “yo mama!”

Dictionaries are among the most frequently consulted books, yet we know remarkably little about them. Who makes them? Where do they come from? What do they offer? How can we evaluate them? - This is the first time that the subject has been covered in such a comprehensive manner in the form of a reference book. All articles are self-contained, cross-referenced and uniformly structured. The whole is an up-to-date and forward-looking survey of lexicography.

Treat yourself or a loved one to this laugh-out-loud informative guide to the colourful linguistic secrets of the Greeks, written by Insider’s own John Carr (with Paul Anastasi), and accompanied by wonderfully humourous illustrations by Iason Iliades. *   What do you do when you “do the duck?”?*   Why you don’t want to “eat soup” in Greece!*   What happens when you “become billiard balls”? Discover the answer to these and many other quirky colloquialisms – including the enduring mystery of Mrs Alexander’s buttons! A perfect gift for anyone who intends to spend time in Greece and get under the skin of the local culture.

If foreign words and phrases are your "bete noire," here is a superb reference that covers more than 6,000 foreign words and phrases commonly used in English, drawn from some forty languages, from Afrikaans to Turkish. Readers will find clear definitions of words such as "fandango," "futon," "falsetto," "basmati," and many other words that appear in everyday speech as well as in musical direction, the arts, food, medicine, science, literature and belles-lettres. The entries are browsable, but also authoritative, with detailed information on each word or phrase, including any alternative spellings, the date of the word's introduction into English, its language of origin, its definition, and notes on usage and other points of interest. New full-page feature panels provide fascinating extra information on language borrowing, including how specific languages have influenced particular areas of English. This new edition includes up-to-date coverage of words that have entered the English language in the 21st Century, including "bruschetta," "pashmina," and "galactico," and an appendix that lists words by country.

The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar is a straightforward and accessible A-Z guide to the diverse and often complex terminology of English grammar. It contains over 1,600 entries with clear and concise definitions, enhanced by numerous example sentences, as well as relevant quotations from the scholarly literature of the field. This second edition is written and edited by Professor Bas Aarts of University College London, writer of the acclaimed Oxford Modern English Grammar. It has been fully revised and updated, with particular attention paid to refreshing the example sentences included within the text. There are over 150 new entries that cover current terminology which has arisen since the publication of the first edition, and there are also new entries on the most important English grammars published since the start of the 20th century. Hundreds of new cross-references enhance the user-friendly nature of the text, and the list of works cited has been thoroughly updated to reflect the current state of the field. A short appendix of web links has been added. All in all, this Dictionary is an invaluable guide to English grammar for all students and teachers of the subject, as well as all those with an informed interest in the English language.

Word play comes in many forms, and a dictionary consisting of creative definitions is not a new concept. The Savvy Dictionary, however, takes this idea and expands upon it, turning to a large and diverse set of sources to present familiar concepts in a new light. In this entertaining and enlightening reference, author and former teacher Heck Tate uses quotes and phrases coined by both famous and less familiar figures throughout history to define words in a way never seen before. He draws from authorities as diverse as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Agatha Christie, Garrison Keillor, Eleanor Roosevelt, the Bible, and his former students (listed anonymously). The excerpts provided here reach back to the time of the ancient Greeks and sweep into the present. A fusion of a traditional lexicon and Bartlett's Familiar Quotations that draws from the words of authors, philosophers, theologians, wits, and wisecrackers, this is a dictionary everyone can read just for the fun of it.

Sir Winston Churchill was the greatest orator of his day, the greatest statesman of his age, and the greatest Englishman of the 20th century. This enchanting collection gathers hundreds of his funniest and wickedest quips in tribute to the exhilarating wit of this great-hearted, infuriatingly conceited, wildly funny, and brilliantly talented Englishman.