Sheila Dignen

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.

Includes colour coding of the dictionary quartiles, links to the Primary Strategy for KS2 and special information on word families, usage, and derived words. With the virtual thumb tabs and the alphabet down the side of each page, this book is age appropriate for independent dictionary users.