The Cassell Dictionary of English Idioms
Title | The Cassell Dictionary of English Idioms PDF eBook |
Author | Rosalind Fergusson |
Publisher | Burns & Oates |
Pages | 392 |
Release | 1999 |
Genre | Reference |
ISBN | 9780304350094 |
This is a guide to over 10,000 English idioms, from apple-pie to zonk out. It defines and explains each idiom and includes examples to show the context in which particular idioms are used. Included is an explanation of where unusual idioms came from and what their history has been.
Cassell's Dictionary of English Idioms
Title | Cassell's Dictionary of English Idioms PDF eBook |
Author | Rosalind Fergusson |
Publisher | Weidenfeld & Nicolson |
Pages | 408 |
Release | 2003-01-31 |
Genre | English language |
ISBN | 9780304353804 |
It's "clear as a bell"--this informative and fun A to Z guide to English idioms really "plumbs the depths" of the subject. Over 10,000 cross-referenced entries that range from "bread and circuses" to "apple-pie order" and "muscle in" to "zonk out" give the meaning of each phrase and the context in which it is used. Unusual idioms receive longer explanations detailing their origins and their history. There are terms Shakespearean, Biblical, nautical, historical-and ones derived from quotes, misquotes, and misunderstanding. You won't want "to do without" it!
Cassell's Dictionary of Slang
Title | Cassell's Dictionary of Slang PDF eBook |
Author | Jonathon Green |
Publisher | Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. |
Pages | 1600 |
Release | 2005 |
Genre | Language Arts & Disciplines |
ISBN | 9780304366361 |
With its unparalleled coverage of English slang of all types (from 18th-century cant to contemporary gay slang), and its uncluttered editorial apparatus, Cassell's Dictionary of Slang was warmly received when its first edition appeared in 1998. 'Brilliant.' said Mark Lawson on BBC2's The Late Review; 'This is a terrific piece of work - learned, entertaining, funny, stimulating' said Jonathan Meades in The Evening Standard.But now the world's best single-volume dictionary of English slang is about to get even better. Jonathon Green has spent the last seven years on a vast project: to research in depth the English slang vocabulary and to hunt down and record written instances of the use of as many slang words as possible. This has entailed trawling through more than 4000 books - plus song lyrics, TV and movie scripts, and many newspapers and magazines - for relevant material. The research has thrown up some fascinating results
Cassell's Dictionary of English Idioms
Title | Cassell's Dictionary of English Idioms PDF eBook |
Author | Rosalind Fergusson |
Publisher | Weidenfeld & Nicolson |
Pages | 392 |
Release | 2002 |
Genre | Reference |
ISBN | 9780304363841 |
Idioms are the expressions peculiar to any language, and English is about as peculiar as languages come! Why do people "argue the toss"?; and how do people "bring home the bacon"? This volume provides a full and thorough guide to both the most recent and more archaic turns of phrase.
Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms
Title | Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms PDF eBook |
Author | John Ayto |
Publisher | Oxford University Press, USA |
Pages | 419 |
Release | 2010-07-08 |
Genre | Foreign Language Study |
ISBN | 019954378X |
Offers entries for over six thousand idioms, including seven hundred new to this edition, and provides background information, additional cross-references, and national variants.
The Oxford Dictionary of Idioms
Title | The Oxford Dictionary of Idioms PDF eBook |
Author | Judith Siefring |
Publisher | OUP Oxford |
Pages | 720 |
Release | 2005-11-10 |
Genre | Reference |
ISBN | 019157953X |
Did you know that 'flavour of the month' originated in a marketing campaign in American ice-cream parlours in the 1940s, when a particular flavour would be specially promoted for a month at a time? And did you know that 'off the cuff' refers to the rather messy practice of writing impromptu notes on one's shirt cuff before speaking in public? These and many more idioms are explained and put into context in this second edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Idioms. This vastly entertaining dictionary takes a fresh look at the idiomatic phrases and sayings that make English such a rich and intriguing language. A major new edition, it contains entries for over 5000 idioms, including 350 new entries and over 500 new quotations. The text has been updated to include many new idioms using the findings of the Oxford English Reading Programme, the biggest language research programme in the world. The entries are supported by a wealth of illustrative quotations from a wide range of sources and periods. For example: 'Rowling has not been asleep at the wheel in the three years since the last Potter novel, and I am pleased to report that she has not confused sheer length with inspiration.' - Guardian, 2003. 'I made the speech of a lifetime. I had them tearing up the seats and rolling in the aisles.' - P.G. Woodhouse, 1940. Many entries include boxed features which give more detailed background on the idiom in question. For example, did you know that 'taken aback' was adopted from nautical terminology, and described a ship unable to move forward because of a strong headwind pressing its sails back against the mast? The text has been entirely redesigned so that it is both elegant and easy to use. Anyone interested in the quirky side of the English language will have hours of fun browsing through this fascinating and informative volume.
Cassell's English Dictionary
Title | Cassell's English Dictionary PDF eBook |
Author | John Williams |
Publisher | |
Pages | 1100 |
Release | 1903 |
Genre | |
ISBN |