This Dictionary is part of the Oxford Reference Collection: using sustainable print-on-demand technology to make the acclaimed backlist of the Oxford Reference programme perennially available in hardback format. What is a ham-and-egger? What are Anglo-Saxon attitudes? Who or what is liable to jump the shark? Who first tried to nail jelly to the wall? The answers to these and many more questions are in this fascinating book. Here in one volume you can track down the stories behind the names and sayings you meet, whether in classic literature or today's news. Drawing on Oxford's unrivalled bank of reference and language online resources, this dictionary covers classical and other mythologies, history, religion, folk customs, superstitions, science and technology, philosophy, and popular culture. Extensive cross referencing makes it easy to trace specific information, while every page points to further paths to explore. A fascinating slice of cultural history, and a browser's delight from start to finish. What is the fog of war? Who first wanted to spend more time with one's family? When was the Dreamtime? How long since the first cry of Women and children first? Where might you find dark matter? Would you want the Midas touch? Should you worry about grey goo?

Ever since the first edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations published over 70 years ago, this bestselling book has remained unrivalled in its coverage of quotations both past and present. The eighth edition is a vast treasury of wit and wisdom spanning the centuries and providing the ultimate answer to the question, 'Who said that?' Find that only half-remembered line in a collection of over 20,000 quotations, comprehensively indexed for ready reference. The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations provides a quote for every occasion that spans the greatest minds of history to the people who gave us one-liners.
Drawing on Oxford's unrivalled dictionary research program and unique language monitoring, over 700 new quotations have been added to this eighth edition from authors ranging from St Joan of Arc and Coco Chanel to Albrecht Durer and Thomas Jefferson. New sayings that span the ages include "It would not be better if things happened to men just as they wish" (the classical writer Heraclitus), "My father used to say: "Don't raise your voice, improve your argument'"' (Desmond Tutu), and "The future is already here--it's just not evenly distributed" (the writer William Gibson).
Two hundred authors make their debut in this edition, with a brand-new companion website that links to dozens of spoken quotations by the authors themselves.

Little Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs features over 2,000 proverbs and sayings from around the world, arranged across 250 subjects - from 'Books' and 'Borrowing' to 'Dreams' and 'Drink'. Each theme has a short introduction giving an overview of the proverbial treatment of the topic and each proverb is accompanied by information on its date, source, and meaning. Not only is this book a pleasure to browse but it is ideal for quick reference with its comprehensive index that makes it easy to find the exact phrase you're looking for. Beautifully produced and designed, it is the perfect gift for anyone who loves language. Drawing on Oxford's ongoing dictionary research and language monitoring, the second edition of this delightful book adds phrases that have come to prominence, or increased in popularity, since publication of the first edition, such as 'Never waste a good crisis' and 'Dress for the job you want, not for the job you have', which add a contemporary flavour to the selection of more traditional English proverbs, and the popular sayings used in the English-speaking world from Asia, Africa, Middle East, and many other cultures. Find phrases on all aspects of life in this fascinating little book.

Sixteen year old Ricky Chavez is in trouble. Suspended from school, he has to face his older brother and legal guardian, Frank. Trouble is, Frank meets him with a belt. Bruised and depressed, Ricky drags himself to work. His co-worker, Maria de Leon, is the person who reaches out to him, and he falls in love. Trouble is, she belongs to a gang. Being in love with Maria means hanging around with the gang, ditching school to the beach or to her place, and ending up with a report card full of C's, D's, and an F. But a bad report card is the least of Ricky's troubles. Maria's gang, Locos 18, comes in conflict with another gang, Westside Raza, when a Locos girl named Sandra flirts with a Westside boy named Eddy. When Eddy beats her up, Locos goes looking for him. In the violent showdown between the two gangs, Ricky recognizes the consequences of his association with Maria and Locos 18. He has to make a decision. Trouble is, he doesn't like either one.

Quotations are an essential part of the fabric of the language. In And I quote, Elizabeth Knowles draws on her experience editing the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations and employs a wide repertoire of examples, ranging from the classical canon to contemporary popular culture, to illuminate just how and why we quote. Her investigation focuses on how we find, choose, and use quotations in 21st century English, but it also leads her back in time to follow the journeys taken by individual quotes, as their meaning changes subtly - and sometimes not so subtly - over the decades and in many cases the centuries. In following the often-surprising stories of individual quotations, we gain an understanding of how they establish themselves, and to what degree they can develop a life independent of their original coinage. Everyone has their own quotations 'vocabulary', and each reader of the book will think of further items that they would use and wish to explore, but the journeys mapped here illuminate the many fascinating ways in which quotations have embedded themselves in the language, from the earliest dictionaries of quotations to the online world we experience today.