The Ultimate A-to-Z Resource to Common Expressions and Curious Words from the Bible

Martin Manser is a professional reference-book editor and Bible scholar who has compiled and edited more than 70 titles, including dictionaries and biblical reference works. He holds the BA Honours degree in linguistics and an M Phil degree, and he resides with his wife and children in England.

A classic commentary in modern language ... this volume contains the wealth of exposition, metaphors, analogies, and illustrations that have set Matthew Henry's Commentary apart as one of the enduring legacies of faith---and presents them in the language of today. Passage by passage, its prayerful, penetrating reflections and rich insights into the very heart of God's Word are sure to challenge and inspire you.Ideal for personal devotions, Bible studies, and lesson and sermon preparations, The New Matthew Henry Commentary will enable you to rediscover this classic work---or discover it for the first time. Forever fresh and never failing to render new pearls of wisdom, this beloved text is one that you will reach for often to obtain deeper understanding of and appreciation for the Scriptures.

A more-ishly browsable collection of words and phrases, linguistic quirks, lexical oddities and syntactic surprises. Our langauge is one of delight and curiosity. BUTTERING PARSNIPS, TWOCKING CHAVS is a guided tour of English, exploring the origins of words, their changing meaning, lexical peculiarities, word games and lost words, presented in lists, small passages of narrative text, amusing quotations and nuggets of amazing facts. This must-have compendium shows that words have a matchless power to entertain. Here you will find enough new words and phrases to last a lifetime. Idioms frolic beside cliches, catchphrases, proverbs, eponyms, acronyms, spoonerisms and split infinitives. Text messages cavort alongside business jargon and rap slang to produce a language that is both witty and bizarre, and sometimes frankly outstanding. So whether you're a yuppie or a woopie, a sinbad or dinky, a spod or even a wazzock, these pages will provide endless hours of delight and fascination.

This is an indispensable guide to more than 4,500 foreign expressions in the English language.""The Facts On File Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases, Second Edition"" presents new and updated information on the origins and usage of more than 4,500 foreign expressions.This invaluable dictionary clarifies and explains words and phrases spanning a wide range of fields, from law and music to philosophy and cuisine. Entries include pronunciations in American English, parts of speech and other relevant grammatical information, languages of origin, concise definitions, examples of use, and etymological backgrounds. More than 500 entries have been added to this new edition.New and updated coverage includes: terms that have become more frequently used in contemporary English, such as retro and sudoku; more prefixes and suffixes, such as eco- and -fest; terms relating to food, such as panini, burrito, provolone, and wasabi; terms relating to religions, such as Veda; miscellaneous new terms, such as dreck, madrasa, and tort; and, much more.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once described the English language as ""the sea which receives tributaries from every region under heaven."" We dip into this sea more often than we realize, sprinkling our writings and everyday conversations with words and phrases derived from other languages. ""The Facts On File Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases, Second Edition"" presents new and updated information on the origins and usage of more than 4,500 of these expressions.This invaluable dictionary clarifies and explains words and phrases spanning a wide range of fields, from law and music to philosophy and cuisine. Entries include pronunciations in American English, parts of speech and other relevant grammatical information, languages of origin, concise definitions, examples of use, and etymological backgrounds. More than 500 entries have been added to this new edition.New and updated coverage includes: terms that have become more frequently used in contemporary English, such as retro and sudoku; more prefixes and suffixes, such as eco- and -fest; terms relating to food, such as panini, burrito, provolone, and wasabi; terms relating to religions, such as Veda; and, miscellaneous new terms, such as dreck, madrasa, and tort and much more.

A proverb is a saying, usually short, that expresses a general truth about life. Proverbs give advice, make an observation, or present a lesson in a succinct and memorable way. We use proverbs or allude to them often in everyday speech. Some examples of proverbs include: Better safe than sorry; The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence; If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. The Facts On File Dictionary of Proverbs, Second Edition includes more than 1,700 English-language proverbs-200 of which are new-that are widely recognized today. Arranged alphabetically, entries provide the meaning of each proverb, the date it was first recorded, variant forms of the proverb, other proverbs that are similar and opposite to it in meaning, and examples of the proverb's use. This fascinating dictionary will provide readers and students with insight into this unique aspect of our language. This second edition has been expanded to include more familiar, long-established proverbs (such as "Call a spade a spade"; "It takes one to know one"; and "Worse things happen at sea") as well as a selection of more modern ones (such as "You snooze, you lose" and "Men are from Mars, women are from Venus"). Existing entries have been updated to include modern variants (such as "The e-mail of the species is more deadly than the mail," instead of "The female of the species is deadlier than the male" and "The geek shall inherit the earth," a variant of "The meek shall inherit the earth"). Additional, all-new features include boxes containing selected lists of proverbs from other languages and cultures.

The Bible is one of the masterpieces of world literature. It is the most widely distributed of all books and contains some of the world's greatest literature - from the songs of praise in Psalms to the great stories in the book of Genesis. ""Critical Companion to the Bible"" examines the Bible as a work of literature, focusing on its language and verbal structures and on the imaginative quality of its thought. This invaluable resource is an essential addition to high school and college literature and religion classes. The coverage includes: an essay entitled 'Reading the Bible', providing an overview of the various approaches critics have taken to interpret the Bible and examining the question of authorship of the biblical books and the historical development of the biblical canon; in-depth alphabetical entries - each containing a synopsis, a commentary section, and subentries on the main figures - on all the books of the Bible; alphabetical entries on important people, places, concepts, and topics related to the Bible Appendixes, including a list of books of the Bible as categorized by different faiths; a chronology; and a list of important secondary resources, including scholarly Web sites.

The Facts on File Dictionary of Allusions provides a comprehensive guide to allusions in the English language. In approximately 4,000 entries, this new resource explores well-known events, places, people, and phenomena whose names have acquired linguistic significance, conveying a particular message beyond a mere reference to the objects referred to. Entries are drawn from a wide range of sources, including Shakespeare and the Bible; Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology; texts from literature through the ages; historical events; popular culture; and film and television. Individual entries contain pronunciation guides, definitions, examples, information on derived forms, and more. Entries include Achilles' heel, Godzilla, Indiana Jones, Phoenix rising from the ashes, Svengali, and much more.

From school papers and e-mails to business reports and legal briefs, people write for personal and professional reasons on a daily basis. Finding a style and voice early on helps people become clear and concise writers, simplifying tasks of all kinds. The perfect companion to ""The Facts On File Guide to Good Writing"" (see page 8), this book helps readers refine and improve their writing style. The coverage includes: What Is Style? - understanding what constitutes clarity, elegance, and vigor in writing; Writing with Style - choosing words, constructing sentences, and finding the appropriate tone; Choosing a Style - adapting writing to suit circumstance, audience, and purpose; and Style in Practice - choosing the appropriate style for letters, e-mails, business reports, promotional writing, and other specific requirements. ""The Facts On File Guide to Style"" is a valuable resource for readers and writers of all ages.