Common Phrases: And Where They Come From

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Overview



Have you ever let the cat out of the bag?

Or tried to bury the hatchet with an old enemy?

How ...
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Overview



Have you ever let the cat out of the bag?

Or tried to bury the hatchet with an old enemy?

How many times have you looked outside and it was raining cats and dogs?

This is just a small sampling of the dozens of silly phrases we all use and hear
regularly—but does anyone really know where these sayings came from or what they even mean? Common Phrases and Where They Come From, Second Edition, offers over two hundred of these quirky idioms and explores the intriguing origins and history behind each.
 
Learn the derivation of some of your favorite phrases, including:

Crocodile tears 
Apple of my eye 
Even Steven 
Mad money
Three sheets to the wind 
Piping hot

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781599213071
  • Publisher: Globe Pequot Press
  • Publication date: 7/17/2008
  • Edition description: Second
  • Edition number: 2
  • Pages: 200
  • Sales rank: 209,903
  • Product dimensions: 5.90 (w) x 8.90 (h) x 0.60 (d)

Meet the Author



Myron Korach was born in 1901 and received a law degree from Case Western Reserve University Law School in 1929. While he attended law school, Korach taught immigrants to read and write, his first experience with their difficulties with idioms.
 
John Mordock, a psychologist by training, has published six books and numerous articles in professional journals. An avid fly fisherman, he has also published articles in outdoor magazines.

Table of Contents


Preface     iv
Hammer Out     vii
Big Daddies     1
Scrapes     20
Toothbrush Day     44
Cardinal Sins     66
Rigmarole     75
Handles     88
Grub     119
Spring Chicken     131
Top Banana     141
Kindred Spirits     154
To Make a Point     171
Index     183

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