Black Sheep and Lame Ducks by Albert Jack

Black Sheep and Lame Ducks by Albert Jack

The fun and fascinating follow-up to the international bestseller Red Herrings and White Elephants

Why do people put their skeletons in a closet, have a hunch, get the cold shoulder, get dressed up to the nines, or call a spade a spade? These phrases are used every day, yet most people have little or no idea where most of them come from. In Black Sheep and Lame Ducks, Albert Jack takes readers on a journey through the curious- and often bizarre-origins of hundreds of their favorite idioms and expressions.

For example, wearing your heart on your sleeve comes from the Middle Ages, when a lady would give her heart in the form of a handkerchief pinned to the sleeve of a knight who was about to go into battle. And calling someone the black sheep in the family refers to a thousands- year-old belief that a black lamb in a flock was unpopular because its fleece was undyeable and therefore less valuable.

With Black Sheep and Lame Ducks, any language-lover can feel like a Smart Aleck-and also know exactly who that was.

Albert Jack s Red Herrings and White Elephants was a huge international hit and was on the bestsellers list for sixteen months. His second, Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep was another success: selling over 70,000 copies. He is also the author of That's Bollocks! (all the strangest, sickest, funniest and most unforgettable urban legends as told in Jack's inimitable style) and Albert Jack's Ten-Minute Mysteries.

SKU	Nicht verfügbar
ISBN 13	9780399535123
ISBN 10	0399535128
Titel	Black Sheep and Lame Ducks
Autor	Albert Jack
Buchzustand	Nicht verfügbar
Bindungsart	Paperback
Verlag	Penguin Putnam Inc
Erscheinungsjahr	2010-05-04
Seitenanzahl	256
Hinweis auf dem Einband	Die Abbildung des Buches dient nur Illustrationszwecken, die tatsächliche Bindung, das Cover und die Auflage können sich davon unterscheiden.
Hinweis	Nicht verfügbar