Cliches: over 1500 Phrases Explored and Explained by Betty Kirkpatrick

Cliches: over 1500 Phrases Explored and Explained by Betty Kirkpatrick

Betty Kirkpatrick has complied and exhaustive dictionary--a must for writers, crossword puzzle buffs, and anyone who is intrigued by language.

Sample entries from Cliches

Let the cat out of the bag is an idiom cliche meaning to reveal a secret. In origin it refers allegedly to a fairground tick by which traders sold unwary buyers a cat in a bag, assuring them it was a pig. The buyers did not realize their mistake until they let the cat out of the back, by which time it was too late.

Bite the bullet is an idiom cliche meaning to steel oneself to accept something distressing. In origin it probably refers to the days before anesthesia, when soldiers wounded in battle were given a lead bullet to bite on to brace themselves against the pain of surgery.

Fly off the handle is an idiom cliche meaning to lose one's temper. Originally American, the expression has its origin in an ax or hammer, the handle of which becomes loosened and flies off after it has struck a blow.

Kirkpatrick, Betty: -

Betty Kirkpatrick is a writer and lexicographer. Editor of both the Bloomsbury Thesaurus and Roget's Thesaurus, she was formerly editor of the Chambers Twentieth-Century Dictionary. She lives in Scotland.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780312198442
ISBN 10	0312198442
Title	Cliches: over 1500 Phrases Explored and Explained
Author	Betty Kirkpatrick
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	St. Martin's Griffin
Year published	1999-01-15
Number of pages	224
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable