Customer Reviews

A Dictionary of Omens and Superstitions

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book was a complete disappointment. The information for each entry is brief and by the time you remove sentiments like 'here's a belief that is so quaint/useless/Irish' and 'I don't know where this notion came from and I guess we never will' and 'I don't know why this idea persists when it's so clearly wrong,' there's hardly any information left behind. I don't know which was more grating: the lack of information or her insulting tone throughout the book. I don't know why someone who clearly does not have an academic enjoyment or respect for superstitions would choose to write about them. Also, if excessive use of exclamation points annoys you, that will be another strike against this book. Two examples:

"Hat: If you wear a hat, be careful how you put it on -for an old superstition decrees that you are in for a day of badluck if you put it on the wrong way round. There is, though, a rather expensive way of countering the bad luck -buy a new hat! In America it is said that if a lady puts on a gentleman's hat then it is a sign -unconscious or not- that she wishes to be kissed!"

"Kettle: young girls are warned by superstition not to turn a boiling kettle around so that the spout faces the wall or they will never find a husband. Apart, of course, from the damage the steam might well do to the paintwork!"

I'm returning my copy.

Ever wonder why black cats are thought of as bad? Well, this book will tell you. This is a great book to have on hand. It's good to lok through, and then have ready when need be. Entertain your friends with alot of useless information. This book covers many different cultures, like French, english, American and more. Different cultures believe in differnt things.

A Dictionary of Omens and Superstitions covers more than 500 portents, signs, and customs from all over the world, mainly from Europe and America. It reveals the origins of many modern superstitions such as walking under ladders (The Devil and the Triangle), and such sayings as "pinch me" (sailors who had spent long periods of time were often mistaken for ghosts when they returned, and so they were pinched to prove they were real). This book is very comprehensive, answering many questions and giving fascinating information.

Some more things covered in this book are: birthmarks, chain letters, epitaphs, ladybirds, may blossoms, palpitations, robins, shooting, sodomy, tables, and weeds, among other common and uncommon omens. I highly recommend this book.

Good source of information. However, I find all such books to give limited definitions. There was no cross reference between phrases and where the definition would be located. I was looking for ringing doorbell. There was no listing for doorbell. There was only a listing for bell. However I found that the one listing was geared more towards outdoor bells such as at a church than the common doorbell.

Ever wondered why to break a mirror means 7 years of bad luck? Or why you should never walk under a ladder. And what about the number 13? Superstition still plays a part in our lives whether we wish to deny it or not, and reason does not always conquer instinct. Philippa Waring has done an admirable job of cataloging the world's most prevalent superstitions, and explains how and why they developed. Turns out that ladder is to be avoided because when it leans it forms a triangle, symbol of the Christian Trinity. It was considered disrespectful to walk through it, and suggested that your affinities might lie with the Devil! This is no boring, pedantic dictionary. Open to any page and have fun while learning some great trivia.

I had this book for many years until recently when I loaned it to someone who lost it. So I had to re-purchase it. I like this book because it is very easy to find the items. It is not like other books that are either too generic aor repeat and contradict themselves. It is just for fun so don't get too wrapped up in the meanings. Unless they work! Knock wood!

This book contains information about superstitions on a wide variety of subjects, listed in alphabetical order. It would take too long to mention everything this book contains, but I was fascinated by it. Some of the superstitions were ones I'd heard before, but much of it was new information. There were a few that puzzled me because they were the opposite of what I'd heard before. For example, the entry under Black Cat said, "Perhaps the most famous of all superstitions is the belief that a black cat crossing your path will ensure good luck." I've always thought that black cats were universally considered bad luck, but the book is British, so perhaps the superstition is different in Europe. Many of the superstitions described in the book are European, although there are also plenty from the U.S. and some from other areas of the world.