Customer Reviews

Red Herrings and White Elephants: The Origins of the Phrases We Use Every Day

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book should carry a label saying "Warning - don't assume that any of this is true". In the foreword the author portrays himself as being inspired to write it when sitting in an olde English pub musing on the oddness of English phrases. It reads as though it had been researched in a pub as well; many of the "origins" given are exactly the kind of thing you'd be told by some wiseacre leaning up against the bar. To disprove some of them, such as "keeping danger at bay" and "on the fiddle", wouldn't even take a reference library; you'd only need to look up the words in a good dictionary. One or two of them - such as "dead ringer" - come directly from a famous internet spoof, "Life in the 1500s".

The book is sloppy in every way. Regardless of whether the explanation of a phrase's origin is broadly correct or not, many of the supporting "facts" are wrong; such as the statements that a pig's ear "cannot be eaten or used in any way" - an assertion that would startle peasant cooks from all over Europe - and that pigs are "sacred to Hindus" (!)

It's very odd that some of the "explanations" of phrases in this book don't actually explain them at all. The images evoked by phrases like "flogging a dead horse" or "scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" exactly match what we mean when we say them; the stories in "Red Herrings and White Elephants" actually make much less sense. And yet people seem to prefer the far-fetched stories. Strange.

I find these stories about expressions we use, like giving someone the whole nine yards, absolutely fascinating, and this book has hundreds of them, usefully organized. I even like paging through it for fifteen minutes before going to sleep, like having bite sized short stories. Great source for cocktail party conversation, and might make you seem very learned indeed.

This is not the kind of book that you can just sit down and read. It is absolutely mandatory that you have someone nearby that you can tap on the shoulder and ask if they know what a red herring is or a white elephant. And then minutes later you will be bothering them with another gem that you just have to share. And then you interrupt them yet again with another one. Definitely a fun, interactive book.

This is one of those books that is great for riding the subway or taking the bus. Nice short tidbits that are fascinating to read and many stick in the memory. My problem with the book is that there are some rather glaring errors. The first of which is the idea that Indians (people from India) were used as slaves in the United States. If errors like that pop up it makes me wonder what else in there is wrong. Even if the conclusions that Jack comes to are not the end all be all, they certainly do entertain and give food for thought. In many ways, the book is like a cultural history of England as well. I learned about as much about the idioms as I did about the lives of everyday people throughout the history of the British Isles.

This book is a ton of fun. Okay, it may not be the most concise but for what it is it is fun. It was written by the Brits though and so a few of the phrases I've never heard. If you are a know it all, crazy about etymology or you just enjoy oddball trivia books, this book is fun, very informative.

This book explores the origin of common phrases used in every day speech.

Those reading the book should be aware that not all of the derivations presented are uncontested, and that a couple of the explanations seem truncated.

For example, I would recommend that anyone who is interested in the origin of 'biting the bullet' needs to be aware that the underlying rumour was that the grease was made out of cow or pig fat. The cow is sacred to the Hindu and the pig is an unclean animal to the Muslim. Therefore whether Hindu or Muslim, they felt that they were being forced into a polluting practice. While it is possible that some of the cartridges were made with pig or bullock fat, the contractors had been instructed to use mutton.

The book itself is an entertaining and easy to read addition to a reference library on English language.

Recommended.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

My 15 year old son really enjoyed this book. We sat around as a family talking about each story. A book like this might be what it takes to get a person reading.

I have always been into trivia. This book will make you the "life of the party" with its documented research behind commonly used Phrases. Very fun and humorous reading as well.

I highly recommend it.!

Allen

This book has a lot of fun phrases explained. This was a gift to my husband who periodically lets me know how a particular phrase came about and he really enjoys this type of thing. Since I haven't read it personally I can't be more specific.

If you have ever wondered where expressions originated this is the perfect book. It's fun!