Red Herrings and White Elephants: Albert Jack

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This is not the kind of book that you can just sit down and read. It is absolutely mandatory that you have someone nearby that you can tap on the shoulder and ask if they know what a red herring is or a white elephant.

Red Herrings and White Elephants by Albert Jack | Waterstones Red Herrings and White Elephants by Albert Jack | Waterstones

As others have noted, some of the words or phrases discussed are very specifically British. Knowing the derivation of the word "berk" makes me happy that this is not much used in the United States.Forgotten the title or the author of a book? Our BookSleuth is specially designed for you. Visit BookSleuth Had this little book for years, was brought as a present from my auntie from Australia. A great book of sayings and where they came from. Mostly English. Mad hatter . . . pie in the sky . . . egg on your face. We use these phrases every day, yet how many of us know what they really mean or where they came from? If you have even a slight interest in the history of language and phrases this book is a must read. It is popularly—but erroneously—claimed that the phrase (as) bold as brass originally referred to Brass Crosby (1725-93), Lord Mayor of London.

Red Herrings and White Elephants - Albert Jack 1843581299 - Red Herrings and White Elephants - Albert Jack

If you happen to be a bootlegger, your profession recalls the Wild West outlaws who sold illegal alcohol by concealing slender bottles of whiskey in their boots. If you're on cloud nine, you owe a nod to the American Weather Bureau's classification of clouds, the ninth topping out all others at a mountainous 40,000 feet. If you opt for the hair of the dog the morning after, you're following the advice of medieval English doctors, who recommended rubbing the hair of a dog into the wound left by the animal's bite. The Origins of Nautical & Military Phrases – Kindle Edition Buy Now From the Author of the Internationally Bestselling Red Herrings & White Elephants, Pop Goes the Weasel, What Caesar did for My Salad, Shaggy Dogs, They Laughed at Galileo: Many times, during every single day, all of us will use what is known as … This book is absolutely amazing I read it while in hospital and I cannot say how fantastic this book is and the quality of the book as well I bought this for my mum and she has really really enjoyed it. Thank you Even as a native English speaker there are plenty of things to learn for this book and I found myself thinking "wow, I never knew that" on many occasion.And then minutes later you will be bothering them with another gem that you just have to share. And then you interrupt them yet again with another one. Definitely a fun, interactive book. Bold as brass": Brass is hard, brass is shiny, brass is eye-catching. Brass is, in a word, bold. Is the word "brazen," originally meaning made of brass but now also meaning "bold and without shame" supposed to be just coincidental and having nothing to do with the origin of this phrase? When we look out of the window and it is Raining Cats and Dogs, don’t go out there. There are several suggestions for the origin of this phrase, one alluding to a famous occasion when it actually rained frogs. Apparently many were lifted into the air during a howling gale and then dropped to the … From bringing home the bacon to leaving no stone unturned, the English language is peppered with hundreds of common idioms borrowed from ancient traditions and civilizations throughout the world. Origin: This phrase refers to smoked herring. In many parts of 19th century Britain such fish have a very strong smell and were usually known, not as kippers, but as red herrings. Because of their smell, they were good at masking other smells. As a result, they could easily cover the scent of a fox. A red herring pulled across the trail could divert the hounds onto a false path. Thus, by analogy, the phrase came to be used to describe any false trail.

Red Herrings and White Elephants by Albert Jack | Goodreads

Penelitian tingkat keberhasilan kelompok usaha bersama peningkatan peranan wanita di bidang kesejahteraan sosial dalam pengentasan kemiskinan To Chance Your Arm is to take an uncalculated risk, where the outcome is completely unknown. A blind bet, if you like. There are several suggestions for the origin of this saying, one being that military men, whose rank was displayed in the way of stripes on their sleeves, would take battlefield risks, which could … For many centuries, brass has been taken as a type of hardness, imperishableness, insensibility, etc.; for example, the Book of Job, 6:12, is as follows in the Later Version (1395) of the Wycliffe Bible:...Example: The London Bridge became a white elephant. The bridge was relocated to Havasu City Arizona, where it now remains as a tourist attraction. long and short is...the white elephants resides, i suspect, in fort knox..as that was one of two possible likelys the bus passed through... Two bits of that story are true. “Dicey” did begin as RAF slang during WWII. And, as Bill P. discovered in his research, there is indeed a “Dice” airfield at Aberdeen, Scotland, evidently known for its clear weather. A delightful compendium of anecdotes on everything from minding your p's and q's to pulling out all the stops, Red Herrings and White Elephants is an essential handbook for language-lovers of all ages. Red Herrings and White Elephants. The Origins of the Phrases We Use Every Day : - signed or inscribed book