Dictionary of Cliches [Mass Market Paperback]

James Rogers (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 12, 1986

"The best kind of reference book--one that amuses as it instructs. I fell for it hook, line, and sinker."
CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALERR
IN A NUTSHELL, here's a terrific A TO Z listing of the meanings and origins of over 2,000 common or particularly interesting cliches for everyone who delights in the pleasure of words.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"The best kind of reference book--one that amuses as it instructs. I fell for it hook, line, and sinker."
CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALERR
IN A NUTSHELL, here's a terrific A TO Z listing of the meanings and origins of over 2,000 common or particularly interesting cliches for everyone who delights in the pleasure of words.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (December 12, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345338146
• ISBN-13: 978-0345338143
• Product Dimensions: 4 x 1 x 6.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #39 in Books > Education & Reference > Trivia & Fun Facts
  • #59 in Books > Education & Reference > Quotations
  • #59 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Trivia

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll be filled to the brim with knowledge. June 17, 2004

By M. E. Volmar

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This informative, well-researched and amusing reference explains the meaning, origin and subsequent usage of over 2000 cliches, sayings and expressions made familiar through their continued, and sometimes exaggerated, use. It's a wonderful resource for writers, researchers and editors, for trivia enthusiasts, and for people who just love words, language and slang.
Each entry in this comprehensive collection is presented in a paragraph-length format, and is written in a clear, concise and humorous style that invites browsing, but is also appropriate for easy consultations, for which an index of cross-references is also included. Here you'll find the well known "head over heels," "fit as a fiddle" and "right as rain" and also the not so common "eager for the fray" and "Simon pure."
Although not all the cliches ever used are contained in this volume, it is by far the most complete compilation of its kind available on the market today.
Overall, this book is a delightful trip of exploration and discovery into the treasury of our language's most colorful remarks.
--Reviewed by M. E. Volmar

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dictionary of Clichés February 12, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I got this book years ago as a joke. My mother uses clichés all the time and I thought it would be funny to give her the book. However, I kept it because I found it so interesting. Now it is integral to the research I do for my website. This book is informative, and well put together. I say BUY THIS BOOK!

43 of 48 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars COMPLETELY COMPLETE!!! October 5, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This is, without a doubt, THE best book of clichés ever written! It has EVERY cliché you'll ever need to know and is rife with histories of each cliché to boot! This book is a bibliophile's paradise, an historian's haven, and a boon to ALL students and/or lovers of the English language. You COULD buy Feldman's books (e.g.- "Imponderables," "Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise?" "Do Penguins Have Knees?" etc., etc.) or the Funk books (e.g.- "Heavens to Betsy," "A Hog On Ice," etc., etc.) but I wouldn't recommend it. You'd have to buy ALL of those books to get all the clichés in THIS book. So, for your time and money considerations, I say: BUY THIS BOOK!