In a Manner of Speaking: Phrases, Expressions, and Proverbs and How We Use and Misuse Them

by Colin McNairn

What do “the whole kit and caboodle,” “the whole shebang,” “the whole megillah,” “the whole enchilada,” “the whole nine yards,” “the whole box and dice,” and “the full Monty” have in common? They’re all expressions that mean “the entire quantity,” and they’re all examples of the breadth and depth of the English-speaking world’s vocabulary.

From the multitude of words and phrases in daily use, the author of this delightful exploration into what we say and why we say it zeroes in on those expressions and sayings and their variations that are funny, quirky, just plain folksy, or playfully dressed up in rhyme or alliteration. Some may have become clichés that, as it’s said with “tongue in cheek,” should be “avoided like the plague.” Others have been distorted, deemed politically incorrect, or shrouded in mystery and must bear some explanation.

Among the topics the author delves into are expressions that shouldn’t be taken literally (“dressed to kill” and “kick the bucket”), foreign expressions that crept into English (“carte blanche,” “carpe diem,” and “que sera, sera”), phrases borrowed from print ads and TV commercials (“where there’s life, there’s Bud” and “where the rubber meets the road”), animal images (“a barrel of monkeys” and “chasing your tail”), and food and drink (“cast your bread upon the water,” “chew the fat,” “bottom’s up!”, and “drink as a lord”).

Here’s a book for everyone who delights in the mysteries of language and the perfect gift for all the “wordies” in your life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Language, Reference, Writing, Trivia, Humor

246 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 7, 2015

Reviews

[Lumpy · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Got through about three chapters of word play peppered with idioms, and decided I didn't need 9 more chapters of the same. Going in, I thought he would delve into the history of phrases or families of phrases with some depth, instead of just going from one to the next in a sentence or two. The information besides just categorizing idioms was limited, and I was just not that intrigued by lists of phrases.

[Mark A. Gravitt · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was rather a disappointing book. I had expected it to be a much more in-depth analysis of common phrases. It was, instead, a smirking series of idioms linked by rather tenuous themes.

I forced myself to finish it, but had a rather long "intermission" while I read several other books.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a difficult read but hard to get through because it is so boring. Very rarely did I come across an interesting bit. The author evidently wrote this to see how many common expressions it would take form a book. It was like he been given a school assignment that had to be at least 600 pages.

[Jan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I normally enjoy reading about the English language and our very interesting idioms. But this book was difficult to read. All the idioms were buried in a paragraph format and a lot of them seemed either obvious or too repetitive.

[Glenda · Rating 1 out of 5]

disappointing

[Joy Wilson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Badly organized. Neither enlightening nor educational. So disappointing! I cannot recommend.

[Plum · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really sorry but I just couldn’t get into it.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
A wealth of research went into this book! There were some expressions that were enough off-color that I don't feel able to grant the book a five full stars. However, so much of the text was engaging and entertaining that I'd still recommend it to someone who considers themselves a "word nerd."

[OvercommuniKate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish this was a website and not a book, if that make sense? In my 2021 search for a good linguistics book, they all failed. It should be shorter, more like a writing guide than these anecdote style.

[Pradeep Badatiya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored it. Good attempt to teach correct expressions at all the time.