The Dictionary Of Phrase And Fable Hardcover – 1 Jan. 1988

This is not just a dictionary, and there are many more words defined in an ordinary large dictionary than there are entries in this one. The difference lies in the variety of proper names of note and specific items and events not covered in a standard dictionary; all the entries here have "a tale to tell" - the words of the revising editor Ivor H Evans. It should be used in conjunction with standard dictionaries and encyclopaedias since it does not try to replace the function of either, rather it is intended to fill in the gaps in our daily usage left by those more conventional references. It is a hard-cover book with a proper stitched binding and clearly intended to survive intensive use. I was not aware of it before being given this copy for a Christmas present, but since then I have found it to be surprisingly useful to help with clarifying English usage for writing and as a sideways look at our culture for crossword puzzles. But more than this it can be quite interesting just to dip into as an occasional browse to pass a few minutes, because there is always some quirky phrase I'd not come across before that suddenly seems so obvious after reading about it in here. My 1977 Centenary Edition copy is not particularly up-to-date for the twenty-first century, and there are later more relevant editions available, which is why it loses a star. But I would not be without it.