The Little Book of Cliches

Author(s): Alison Westwood

Gift/Humour

Many of the phrases we use everyday are so woven into our vocabulary that we never think to question their origin or meaning. How often we comfort the broken-hearted with the reassurance that there are plenty more fish in the sea , or ruin a surprise by letting the cat out of the bag . We don't really mean our friend should consider dating a fish, nor do we keep cats in bags, but we use these phrases regardless. Did you know that telling someone to get off their high horse comes from the 13th century? Or that hair of the dog wasn't originally a hangover cure, but a belief that applying a dog hair to a dog bite would cure the wound? In the times of Roman Baths, getting the wrong end of the stick didn't translate as a simple misunderstanding, it actually referred to a communal toilet where a stick was used to pass a cloth from person to person, unfortunately some would often receive the wrong end...The Little Book of Cliches explores the history and meanings behind hundreds of phrases that we use, from everyday idioms to Shakespearian sayings.

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Product Information

Alison Westwood, originally from London, now lives by the south coast. She studied English to postgraduate level and has since worked for various publishing houses. In her spare time she is a freelance journalist, regularly contributing to national magazines and newspapers. It was her keen interest in words and phrases that drove her to compile a list of cliches and investigate their origins.

Introduction -- Animal Inanities -- Biblical Biddings -- Roman Remarks -- Shakespearian Sayings -- Nautical Nuggets -- Great Scott -- Miscellaneous Maxims.

General Fields

  • : 9780955942549
  • : Hachette Australia
  • : Hachette Australia
  • : 0.3
  • : October 2011
  • : 197mm X 130mm
  • : Australia
  • : November 2011
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Alison Westwood
  • : Hardback
  • : 1
  • : 423.1
  • : 160