Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
a quaint piece of scholarly work, October 11, 2005
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.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very interesting book, August 2, 2000
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.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book, May 28, 2000
By A Customer
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.
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