Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable by Ebenezer Brewer

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable by Ebenezer Brewer

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Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable by Ebenezer Brewer

First published in 1870, this 'museum of literary odds and ends' was condensed from material in a manuscript that was thrice the size of the finished book. At the end of his life, Ebenezer Cobham Brewer (1810 97) substantially revised and updated the Dictionary in 1895 and it has appeared in new versions ever since. Reissued here in its first edition, the work reflects Brewer's distinct style and draws on a lifetime's reading. Elucidating the etymology of some 20,000 unusual and everyday words and phrases, the collection touches on diverse subjects ranging from history and literature to mythology and magic. Brewer's charming preface describes the book as an 'alms-basket of words' and promises to examine terms such as 'killed with kindness' and 'kettle of fish'. Readers will be enlightened as to the original meaning of familiar and unfamiliar phrases, many of which have fallen out of use yet testify to the richness of an evolving language.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780304307067
ISBN 10 0304307068
Title Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
Author Ebenezer Brewer
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Hardback
Publisher Littlehampton Book Services Ltd
Year published 1981-07-01
Number of pages 1213
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.