Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep by Albert Jack

Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep by Albert Jack

The English language is crammed with colourful phrases and sayings that we use without thinking every day. It's only when we're asked who smart Alec or Holy Moly were, where feeling in the pink or once in a blue moon come from, or even what letting the cat out of the bag really means that we realize that there's far more to English than we might have thought. Luckily enough, we now have Albert Jack. And rather than resting on his laurels after the enormous success of Red Herrings and White Elephants, he has continued his search around the world, exploring the origins of hundreds more phrases. The fascinating stories he has uncovered come from the rich traditions of the navy, army and law to confidence tricksters and highwaymen, from the practices of ancient civilizations to Music Hall and pubs. Determined to chase each shaggy dog story to the bitter end, his discoveries are even stranger and more memorable this time round. Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep is a compulsively readable, highly enlightening look at the phrases we use all the time but rarely consider. From the skin of your teeth to the graveyard shift - you'll never speak (or even think) English in the same way again.

Albert Jack is a writer and researcher whose passion for solving the mysteries of the English language has taken him through dusty libraries across the world in search of the facts behind the phrases we all take for granted. Normally, however, he lives in Guildford where he divides his time between fast living and slow horses, neat vodka and untidy pubs.

SKU	Non disponible
ISBN 13	9780141024257
ISBN 10	0141024259
Titre	Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep
Auteur	Albert Jack
État	Non disponible
Type de reliure	Paperback
Éditeur	Penguin Books Ltd
Année de publication	2006-10-05
Nombre de pages	272
Note de couverture	La photo du livre est présentée à titre d'illustration uniquement. La reliure, la couverture ou l'édition réelle peuvent varier.
Note	Non disponible