Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (20th edition)

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But as always, it’s the weird tidbits, stumbled across by sheer accident, that are the real delight. For instance, I could certainly have gotten through my entire life without knowing about the blue men of the Minch . But knowing that they are legendary beings who haunt the Minches (the channels separating the Outer Hebrides from the rest of Scotland), occasionally bothering sailors, enriches my life. The added information that they are either kelpies or fallen angels, and are reputed to drag mariners to the bottom of the sea if they fail to answer questions in rhyming couplets (in Gaelic, naturally), fills me with unutterable glee. The "New Edition revised, corrected, and enlarged" from 1895 is now in the public domain, and Web-based versions are available online. Reprints: 1896, 1897, 1898, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1909, and others with no date) First published in 1870, Brewer's has flourished for over a century. It has always been the reference book that "reaches the parts others cannot", the option you try if what you are looking for is not in a standard dictionary or encyclopedia. Even if you don't find what you're looking for, chances are you'll uncover something even more interesting. The fact that it has reached its 17th edition (published in 2005) suggests that it clearly meets a need, even if its exact scope can be hard to pin down precisely. Certainly, one need look no further with a question about ‘traditional’ myths and legends – from the Erymanthian boar to the Swan of Tuonela, from Aarvak and the Abbasids to zombies and Zoroastrians, they’re all covered. The latest edition updates the mythical pantheon to include such creatures as the Balrog and Nazgûl, Voldemort and Dumbledore, the Psammead and Zaphod Beeblebrox, to name only a few. Ebenezer Cobham Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable is one of the English-speaking world's classic reference books. First published in England in 1870, the volume is now in its 17th edition. Infoplease is honored to present Brewer's 1894 “new and enlarged” edition, which was the last version Brewer himself worked on—he died three years after its publication at age 87.

urn:oclc:829900223 Scandate 20111019231616 Scanner scribe6.shenzhen.archive.org Scanningcenter shenzhen Worldcat (source edition)Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, sometimes referred to simply as Brewer's, is a reference work containing definitions and explanations of many famous phrases, allusions, and figures, whether historical or mythical. Much loved for its wit and wisdom since 1870, Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable takes you on a captivating adventure through its trademark blend of language, culture, myth and legend. As Susie Dent explains in the foreword, Brewer’s “is not a straightforward dictionary, nor is it an encyclopaedia. It is, in fact, unlike any other reference book that exists, anywhere.” This nineteenth edition encapsulates all the charm and wit that characterise its predecessors and maintains the standards of scholarship and eclecticism that have long been its hallmark. Various editions of this book are available online in digitized form. But that shouldn't stop you from getting your own physical copy. Nothing can rival the joy of browsing through it - you're bound to learn something fascinating along the way. As Terry Pratchett says in the Foreword, it's a storehouse of "little parcels of serendipitous information of a kind that are perhaps of no immediate use, but which are, nevertheless very good for the brain." Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2011-04-28 20:44:13 Bookplateleaf 0006 Boxid IA138524 Boxid_2 CH100801 Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II City New York Containerid_2 X0001 Donor Much loved for its wit and wisdom since 1870, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable takes you on a captivating adventure through its trademark blend of language, culture, myth and legend. Nowhere else could the histories of the guillotine and Guinness stout sit so comfortably alongside the KGB and the Keystone Kops. Brewer's is a catalogue of curiosities and absurdities that, over almost 150 years in print, has acquired near-mythical status.

Ocr ABBYY FineReader 8.0 Ocr_converted abbyy-to-hocr 1.1.7 Ocr_module_version 0.0.13 Openlibrary_edition While the proper title of the 1894 edition was the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, future versions of the dictionary began incorporating Brewer's name in the title, in the same way that Bartlett's Familiar Quotations eventually included its original author's name in the title. Description: More than 15,000 entries of the meanings of terms, expressions, and names of real, fictitious and mythical characters in history, science, the arts and literature. This retitled and updated version, initially edited by Adrian Room, was first published in 2000 ( ISBN 978-0304350964). A second edition ( ISBN 978-0550105646), edited by Ian Crofton and John Ayto, was published on 30 November 2010. [4] While this title is based on the structure of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, it contains entries from 1900 onwards and exists alongside its parent volume as a separate work. [5] Other special editions [ edit ]

Much loved for its wit and wisdom since 1870, Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable takes you on a captivating adventure through its trademark blend of language, culture, myth and legend. Nowhere else could the histories of the guillotine and Guinness stout sit so comfortably alongside the KGB and the Keystone Kops. Brewer’s is a catalogue of curiosities and absurdities that, over almost 150 years in print, has acquired near-mythical status. Find sources: "Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( August 2013) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. urn:lcp:brewersdictionar00evan:epub:df4d28ff-514e-48d4-9586-793203a5740a Extramarc Princeton University Library Foldoutcount 0 Identifier brewersdictionar00evan Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t3nw0g25k Isbn 0060162007