The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase, Saying, and Quotation (Paperback)

~ Elizabeth Knowles (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When you want to launch a new chapter, win a fight, spice a speech, or merely wax philosophical before the fire, there's nothing like an apt quotation. Elizabeth Knowles has compiled more than 10,000 pithy phrases covering more than 350 themes, from "Absence" and "Achievement" to "Writing" and "Youth." Flip through the pages and there's Sydney Smith saying, "I look upon Switzerland as an inferior sort of Scotland"; Tom Lehrer opining, "Life is like a sewer. What you get out of it depends on what you put into it"; and Gloria Steinem reflecting, "We are becoming the men we wanted to marry." It's a sparkling collection, so finely indexed that it won't take all day to find the quote you seek.

From Booklist

Like its predecessors, this revised edition will be well used. It brings together a profusion of proverbs, phrases, and quotations, arranged by subject or themes from Ability to Youth. The design and layout are clear and well organized. More than 12,000 bon mots from around the globe are included, and the origins and links of these treasured sayings in our language are traced through numerous cross-references. When themes are closely related, see also references follow the theme title; for example, "News see also Journalism." Under each theme are separate listings for "Proverbs and Sayings," "Phrases," and "Quotations." Items in the first two listings are arranged alphabetically, while quotations appear in chronological order. Sources are provided when they are known.

Proverbs from non-Western languages that have been adopted into English, for example, the Chinese proverb "Trees planted by the ancestors provide shade for their descendents," are identified and plentiful in this new edition. The cornucopia of well-chosen words is drawn from biblical times to the present. Advertising slogans, television catchphrases, political sayings, and even quotes from video games are included. Modern sayings related to the topic at hand, as well as earlier forms of an adage, have been added to many sections. Quotations have been revised and updated.

Nearly a quarter of the book is the extremely useful keyword index, allowing users to find quotes on many more topics like busy, memories, price, and zeal.Libraries typically carry several quotation and proverb dictionaries, all of which have overlapping and unique entries, and it's important to keep the collection fresh. Since this is the third edition in just 10 years, however, libraries owning previous editions may decide it's not an essential purchase. Susan Awe
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 720 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Later Printing edition (November 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198662297
• ISBN-13: 978-0198662297
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,266,463 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Many better collections are available., July 7, 1998

By A Customer

I bought this book by mail hoping that it would be another fascinating book of quotations. Actually, it ranks quite low among the collections available. Look, for example, at "The Penguin Book of Twentieth-Century Quotations," and similar ones edited by John M. Cohen and/or M. J. Cohen. You will not be able to resist browsing through them for a long time. This book is less attractive. What purpose is served by the space devoted to lists of cliches: In cold blood, down memory lane, live and let live, etc.? The quotations are often trite, seldom interesting.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Organized Quotation Book, September 20, 2000

By	"elleblue" (W. Bloomfield, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This is very well organized book, the quotations are arranged alphabetically by themes (life, death, love, forgiveness, the old age, past, etc.) and then arranged by index, you can look up any word, eg. Peace, peaceably, peacefully, peace-time). Unlike other quotations book I used before. Topics range this book covers are wide and have more quotations (about 5,000) more than Bartlett Quotation book I own. However this is less bulky and easier to have a reference book on the side