Dictionary Of Proverbs And Their Origins

This dictionary traces the origins and histories of over 400 proverbs, detailing the changes of meaning and usage that have occurred throughout each proverb's life and offering literary examples dating back over 2000 years.

The English language contains a great store of idioms that can be used in creative and forceful ways. This book examines over 400 phrases, tracing each one's source and history through a supply of examples.

"You can't unring a bell." "It takes a village to raise a child." "Life is just a bowl of cherries." We sometimes think of proverbs as expressions of ancient wisdom, but in fact new proverbs are constantly arising. This unique volume is devoted exclusively to English language proverbs that originated in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The most complete and accurate such collection ever compiled, The Yale Book of Modern Proverbs presents more than 1,400 individual proverbs gathered and researched with the help of electronic full-text databases not previously used for such a project. Entries are organized alphabetically by key words, with information about the earliest datable appearance, origin, history, and meaning of each proverb. Mundane or sublime, serious or jocular, these memorable sayings represent virtually every aspect of the modern experience. Readers will find the book almost impossible to put down once opened; every page offers further proof of the immense vitality of proverbs and their colorful contributions to the oral traditions of today.

"This book presents a composite picture of the richness of proverbs as significant expressions of folk wisdom as is manifest from their appearance in art, culture, folklore, history, literature, and the mass media. The book draws attention to the fact that proverbs as metaphorical signs continue to play an important role in oral and written communication. Proverbs as so-called monumenta humana are omnipresent in all facets of life, and while they are neither sacrosanct nor saccharine, they usually offer much common sense or wisdom based on recurrent experiences and observations."--BOOK JACKET.

The dictionary gives explanations of the meanings and use of proverbs whenever these are obscure. By means of numerous illustrative quotations it also provides a documentary history of each proverb from its first recorded use in written English, and supplies details of earlier related forms in other languages.