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

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This twentieth edition of Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable encapsulates all the charm and wit that characterise its predecessors and maintains the standards of scholarship and eclecticism that have long been its hallmark. Ocr ABBYY FineReader 8.0 Ocr_converted abbyy-to-hocr 1.1.7 Ocr_module_version 0.0.13 Openlibrary_edition 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. Purpose: A dictionary of terms, phrases, expressions, etc. to help students understand figurative language in literature urn:lcp:brewersdictionar00evan:epub:df4d28ff-514e-48d4-9586-793203a5740a Extramarc Princeton University Library Foldoutcount 0 Identifier brewersdictionar00evan Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t3nw0g25k Isbn 0060162007

Reprints: 1896, 1897, 1898, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1909, and others with no date) This twentieth edition of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable encapsulates all the charm and wit that characterise its predecessors and maintains the standards of scholarship and eclecticism that have long been its hallmark. 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.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. 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. 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)

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. A variety of spin-off editions have been published in the past, some straying quite far from the theme of 'phrase and fable', such as Brewer's Dictionary of Cinema (1997) and William Donaldson's A–Z of 'roguish Britons', Brewer's Rogues, Villains and Eccentrics (2002). Brewer's Dictionary of London Phrase and Fable was published in 2009 and Brewer's Dictionary of Irish Phrase and Fable was reissued at the same time. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (Philadelphia: Henry Altemus Company, 1898) "New Edition, Revised, Corrected and Enlarged": searchable web-format at Bartleby.com [ dead link] The most recent version is the 20th edition, published in November 2018 by Chambers Harrap Publishers. Mini-review: Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable - Miscellany". Economist.com. 2012-10-05 . Retrieved 2018-07-29.Validity: This dictionary, first published in 1870, is in its 17th edition, so terms, etc. have been updated and weeded with the passing of time; reviewed by reputable source (Library Journal) 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. urn:oclc:829900223 Scandate 20111019231616 Scanner scribe6.shenzhen.archive.org Scanningcenter shenzhen Worldcat (source 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.