- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd (30 Jan 2003)
- ISBN-10: 0141014458
- ISBN-13: 978-0141014456
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
1,481,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #17 in Books > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauri > Cliches
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
It's hard to realise just how much of our language, both spoken and written, is taken up by clichés--until confronted with a book like this. It's only natural that this form of verbal shorthand is so ubiquitous; after all, people have been thinking and writing much the same thing since the Mesopotamians first put stylus to wet clay. Unless your name happens to be St. Paul, Shakespeare or Milton, whatever the emotion or concept you're seeking to convey to the listener or reader, the chances are that someone's already put it better than you can.
Clichés are so prevalent, in fact, that a comprehensive listing is probably impossible, but in The Penguin Dictionary of Clichés, Julia Cresswell gives it her best shot (pardon the, er, cliché). The 320-page dictionary is an alphabetical listing of more than 1,500 clichés in both British and American English, across a chronological range from 800 or so AD ("hither and yon") to the turn of the 21st century ("bad hair day"). Each cliché is accompanied by a note on meaning and origin, including citations of appearance in print.
Just as the joy of perusing the Oxford English Dictionary (a resource Creswell pays tribute to in her introduction) is in the citations, the fun of The Penguin Dictionary of Clichés comes from checking out when and how familiar clichés infiltrated English. How many of us know, for example, that "kicking against the pricks" dates back to the Authorised or "King James" version of the Bible (Acts 9:5), or that the phrase "lie back and think of England" actually appears in the diary of an Edwardian lady?
Compact, comprehensive, well-researched and written, The Penguin Dictionary of Clichés will be enjoyed by anyone interested in the evolution of the informal words and phrases that give the English language much of its colour and vigour. --C A Wills --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
From 'ace in the hole' to 'you always hurt the one you love'
Great for song titles.Alphabetical cross reference with examples in context.There are only 1500 cliches so dont expect to find everything
Format:Paperback
Somebody said that they should avoid this book like the plague; well I'd like to put them bang to rights. This is what the world's been waiting for.
Format:Paperback
I take my hat off to Julia Cresswell for completing this brilliant project. (As another reviewer spotted, the book tempts you irresistibly.) Think how hard it must have been to select entries and trace their origins. Her explanations are deft, wry, economical, spot-on, witty, stylish. The 'dictionary' is packed with juicy morsels that make you laugh. Whenever I go abroad I take it with me. It's just the ticket to perk you up.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Bright, modern and scholarly reference.
Since time immemorial I'd been looking high and low for a reference to the term 'deep six'. I thought any book that answered my query kicked butt so I bought this. Read more
Published on 19 Aug 2000 by "chris149"
On the Hunt for a good reference book on Cliches and origins
I looked at this book and the first very common cliche that came to mind was 'leg pulling'. There was not a mention of it nor of any of its alternatives, so I put it back on the... Read more
Published on 11 May 2000
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