Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs

by John Andrew Simpson

A proverb is a common saying which offers advice or presents a moral in a short or pithy manner. In the past, proverbs had the status of universal truths and were used to prove an argument: the fact that new proverbs are still coming into being shows how these neat expressions are still valued and used. Modern proverbs have many different origins (for example 'garbage in, garbage out' comes from computing, while 'there's no such thing as free lunch' comes from economics), but people still look for a vivid and concrete image to make their point. Now available in paperback, this brand new edition is a valuable updating and revision of the well-loved classic, the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs, with increased coverage of 1,100 proverbs. Presented in a thoroughly reader-friendly style yet staying true to the scholarly standards that have characterized earlier editions, it offers more detailed annotation and up-to-the-minute citations from around the English-speaking world.New additions include 'another day, another dollar', 'bad things come in threes', 'better to live one day as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep', and 'there is more than one way to skin a cat', with new illustrative quotations putting proverbs in their historical context. This edition also contains a full thematic index.

Genres: Reference, Dictionaries, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published December 18, 2003

About the author

John Simpson joined the staff of the Oxford English Dictionary in the summer of 1976. He was appointed Chief Editor in 1993. He is a member of the English Faculty at Oxford and of the Philological Society (where the idea of the Dictionary was first mooted in the 1850s), and a Fellow of Kellogg College. He is a world expert on proverbs and slang, and has edited dictionaries on both these subjects for Oxford University Press; he regularly lectures and broadcasts on the English language and on the Dictionary.

--from the author's website

Reviews

[Henrik Haapala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caveat emptor. let the buyer beware

Festina lente, make haste slowly

Aquila non captain muscas, The eagle does not catch flies; meaning important people do not concern themselves with trifling matters or Insignificant people.

[Marian]

Realised how much I talk in proverbs. Read to learn to steer clear of them. Not the best when writing for originality, unless it is to subvert them, or has a character who quotes a lot of proverbs. Not so in my case. It was interesting to find the origins of the proverbs, mostly dating way later than the times I am writing in.

[Ruth Bogan]

Haven't done more than crack this one yet, but already I love it because there's a thematic index as well as keyword cross references within the text. Keeping with the crow theme, the entry at 'crow' steers you to FIRST, HAWKS, ONE, COCK and CROWING, each of which is an entry for proverb featuring, you guessed it, a crow. More to follow.

Later--Finished. Lots of historical usage notes. Definitely a British bias.

[Vincent · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, maybe I read the cheesiest proverbs to Jessica, which did not endear this book to her. All in good fun. Some of these proverbs trace their roots back to biblical times or the middle ages, but most are referenced in the past five hundred years, mostly English and American, but there is a smattering of worldly cultures too.
I read two pages a day, dotting the ones I hadn't heard before and "starring" the ones I felt were relevant to my life, especially pertaining to my role as a father. Maybe one day, I will pull these starred entries from the book and write them on a kitchen chalkboard as food for thought for Nico and Mateo (as well as for Jessica and myself).

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not too many I didn't already know, which was disappointing. But good histories on those listed.