Dr. Funk has taken hundreds of picturesque sayings that we use without thinking in our daily speech and has traced them back through the years to find the original allusions.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Charles Earle Funk was editor in chief of the Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary Series. He wrote several other books on word and phrase origins, including Horsefeathers, Heavens to Betsy!, and Thereby Hangs a Tale.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not what I thought or hoped........,
By "bwtyler" (Sunland, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Hog on Ice (Harper Colophon Books) (Paperback)
When I purchased "Hog on Ice", I expected a book with hundreds of expressions along with the historical origin of each. The books does indeed have hundreds of expressions and what they mean, but the author, when describing the origin, rarely gives a definite answer. The origins frequently have phrases like, "probably came from", "could have been", "it is likely that", etc. A great book if you only want to be entertained by learning new expressions and the meaning behind some you already know. As a historical reference, however, you may want to check out Garrisons' "Why you Say It".
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Malaprops No More,
By A Customer
This review is from: A Hog on Ice (Harper Colophon Books) (Paperback)
If you've ever wondered about the origin of the expressions that you've used, misused or abused, this is the definitive resource to set the record straight.a great gift for someone you've caught using a malaprop/malapropism...i'm sending a copy to a friend right now who told me he's "chomping at the bit"...
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Invaluable resource for living in a weird-sounding world,
By A Customer
This review is from: A Hog on Ice (Harper Colophon Books) (Paperback)
I had no idea "hell-bent" came from a campaign slogan.... or why a hog on ice would be particularly independent... This is an even more professional compendium than I had expected! Its approach reminds me of Oxford's, by including the earliest *known* usage and context. Colloquialism is a tricky field-- because it spreads from person-to-person, by nature, nobody can know ABSOLUTELY where a slang came from, or the first-ever usage and context, etc. I don't suppose it'd be very interesting to people who say "like, y'know" or "HellOOooo" or "a'ight" regularly. But it's great for those of us who think before we speak, and want to know why we speak as we do.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
It would be interesting if, through family records, I could bring an unsuspected source into view which would explain why this ex means "in a state of dire panic" or from another record determine why a stooge for an auctioneer, one who makes fictitious bids to stimulate higher bids, is called a "Peter Funk"; but, alas, no such records are known. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
original allusion, saying originated, expression originated, literary use, figurative use Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, New York, Jim Crow, Middle Ages, Exchange Alley, Mark Twain, Sam Slick, King John, Peter Funk, Robin Hood, World War, Brooklyn Bridge, Huckleberry Finn, John Heywood, Mister Reilly, New Orleans, Polite Conversation, Revolutionary War, Roman Catholic New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
It would be interesting if, through family records, I could bring an unsuspected source into view which would explain why this ex means "in a state of dire panic" or from another record determine why a stooge for an auctioneer, one who makes fictitious bids to stimulate higher bids, is called a "Peter Funk"; but, alas, no such records are known. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
original allusion, saying originated, expression originated, literary use, figurative use Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, New York, Jim Crow, Middle Ages, Exchange Alley, Mark Twain, Sam Slick, King John, Peter Funk, Robin Hood, World War, Brooklyn Bridge, Huckleberry Finn, John Heywood, Mister Reilly, New Orleans, Polite Conversation, Revolutionary War, Roman Catholic New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 47
books:
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23
books
cite this book:
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- Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare Collection) by Jan Dean on page 53, page 73, and page 94
- Much Ado About Nothing (Folger Shakespeare Library) by William Shakespeare on page 53, page 73, and page 94
- Thereby Hangs A Tale: Stories of Curious Word Origins by Charles E. Funk in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Many Inventions by Rudyard Kipling on page 85, and page 89
- Huckleberry Finn (Macmillan Readers) by Twain on page 108, and page 111
See all 47 books this book cites
- Third Grade Teacher's Month-by-Month Activities Program by Elizabeth Crosby Stull on page 253, page 306, and Back Matter
- Religious Education and the Brain: A Practical Resource for Understanding How We Learn about God by Jerry Larsen in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Everything Tall Tales, Legends, (Everything (Reference)) by Nat Segaloff in Back Matter
- Compassion's Way: A Doctor's Quest into the Soul of Medicine by Ralph Crawshaw on page 154
- Uncle John's Curiously Compelling Bathroom Reader by Bathroom Readers' Institute on page 336
See all 23 books citing this book
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