ABSTRACT
This absorbing collection of metaphors includes a variety of expressions with figurative meanings, like similes, proverbs, slang and catchphrases. It is the result of a lifetime of work on dialect and metaphor and gives an overview of the folk wisdom expressed in figurative expressions. The author draws on his extensive contact with the rural cultures of Dorset, Cornwall, Yorkshire and Lancashire, but has also included a range of sayings from North America, Australia, Scotland and other English speaking countries.
With revised contents and an improved index to make individual entries easier to find, the Concise can be used to check the meaning and the origin of an expression or to avoid mixed metaphors, anachronisms and incongruities. It is a joy to browse long after your original query has been answered.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |201 pages
The Human World
chapter |5 pages
Human Relationships
chapter |3 pages
Communications
chapter |8 pages
The Body, Body-Care
chapter |5 pages
Illness and Death
chapter |11 pages
The Home
chapter |2 pages
Housework
chapter |14 pages
Food and Drink
chapter |5 pages
Clothing
chapter |6 pages
Work
chapter |3 pages
Poverty
chapter |7 pages
Riches
chapter |3 pages
Town Life, Parks and Gardens
chapter |27 pages
Farming
chapter |11 pages
Crafts and Skills, Industry
chapter |21 pages
The Imaginative, Spiritual and Intellectual Life
chapter |5 pages
The Arts
chapter |22 pages
Sports, Games and Entertainment
chapter |14 pages
Travel
chapter |8 pages
Beggars, Tramps
chapter |7 pages
Criminals, The Law
chapter |13 pages
Naval, Military, Royalist and Political Matters
part |35 pages
Nature and the Animal World