Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (20th edition) by Susie Dent

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (20th edition) by Susie Dent

First published in 1870, this 'museum of literary odds and ends' was condensed from material in a manuscript that was thrice the size of the finished book. At the end of his life, Ebenezer Cobham Brewer (1810 97) substantially revised and updated the Dictionary in 1895 and it has appeared in new versions ever since. Reissued here in its first edition, the work reflects Brewer's distinct style and draws on a lifetime's reading. Elucidating the etymology of some 20,000 unusual and everyday words and phrases, the collection touches on diverse subjects ranging from history and literature to mythology and magic. Brewer's charming preface describes the book as an 'alms-basket of words' and promises to examine terms such as 'killed with kindness' and 'kettle of fish'. Readers will be enlightened as to the original meaning of familiar and unfamiliar phrases, many of which have fallen out of use yet testify to the richness of an evolving language.

Of all the dictionaries in the world [Brewer's] is the most like a treasure-hunt, where one phrase leads to another, and that to a third, and before you know what's happened, it's time for lunch -- Philip Pullman
An idiosyncratic adventure, pulling you in and saying: "this is, in fact, not what you were looking for; but it's much more interesting" -- Terry Pratchett
Off each page of Brewer's leaps some titbit of cultural or linguistic miscellany, much of which this reader didn't even know that he didn't know.. A delight to flip around * The Economist *
An addiction may develop * Independent *
For almost 150 years it has been a celebrated treasure-trove of curious words, forgotten folklore and colourful olde worlde insults...It's opinionated, incomplete, haphazard and strangely addictive. * The Telegraph *

that wonderful reference work
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase
& Fable. Endlessly fascinating,
it is an idiosyncratic treasure
trove of word history, culture,
folk lore and legend-and one of
my favourite books.

* The Bookseller *
Whoever it was who said that you learn something new every day had obviously never read Brewer's Dictionary Of Phrase And Fable. Browsing through this latest edition, I learned something new every few seconds... Who can fail to love a book that is jam-packed with such colourful and random information?... in what other reference book in the world would you ever find the Dalai Lama, the Daleks and Arthur Daley all rubbing shoulders on the same page? * The Daily Mail *

Susie Dent is the resident word expert in Dictionary Corner on C4's Countdown and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, and has been on every programme about words: 15 x 15, Word of Mouth, and More or Less. Susie also writes regularly for the Radio Times, The Week Junior and The I, and her Word of the Day has attracted over 1,000,000 followers on Twitter.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781473676367
ISBN 10	1473676363
Title	Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (20th edition)
Author	Susie Dent
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	John Murray Press
Year published	2018-11-01
Number of pages	1600
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable