Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford Reference) [Hardcover]

Jennifer Speake (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 18, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0198605242 | ISBN-13: 978-0198605249 | Edition: 4

This brand new edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs expands its coverage to 1100 proverbs, with more detailed annotation and up-to-the-minute citations from around the English-speaking world. The text is completely accessible and comprehensive, with added paragraphs that provide illuminating examples of each proverb and its history.
New proverbs have been added, ranging from modern maxims such as "If life hands you lemons, make lemonade" to those with their roots in the past, such as "Justice delayed is justice denied." A thematic index allows readers to easily find proverbs on subjects ranging from boasting to weddings. Presented in a thoroughly reader-friendly style yet maintaining the scholarly standards that have characterized earlier editions, this fourth edition is a valuable updating of a well-loved classic reference.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

If it looks like a proverb and sounds like a proverb, it's a proverb--provided that people use it as they would a proverb. Thus, circulating like a computer virus in Britain and North America and ultimately finding their way into The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs are "If life hands you lemons, make lemonade"; "Garbage in, garbage out"; "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" (attributed to Bert Lance); even "Different strokes for different folks" and nearly 40 other "new" proverbs. The stand-up comic Steven Wright earns a citation with a corollary to "The early bird catches the worm": "The early bird may get the worm, but it's the second mouse that gets the cheese."

Each entry in this update to The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (3d ed., 1998) is arranged alphabetically by the first significant word and is followed, as before, by several illustrative quotations, beginning with the proverb's first documented use in written English. Editor Speake discusses the plan of the book in a brief preface, in which she also explains that, wherever possible, examples of usage have been brought up-to-date. (From the first, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs was intended to focus on contemporary usage.) Following her preface is the introduction to the first edition (1982) by her former coeditor, John Simpson. Recommended for high-school, public, and undergraduate libraries. Harold Cordry
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

`Review from previous edition 'brilliantly arranged ... I recommend it without hesitation to all students of the English language and lovers of literature, as well as to pedants, crossword fanatics and those who like to prove people wrong in argument.'' Auberon Waugh, Sunday Telegraph

`'much pleasure, earthy or erudite, and sometimes both, lies here in store'' Richard Holmes, The Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 4 edition (December 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198605242
• ISBN-13: 978-0198605249
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,404,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.