Fair. This is a well-read book, which means that the previous owner probably really enjoyed it! The cover and pages may include moderate foxing and annotations, but the text is not obscured and still readable. Moderate cosmetic defects and minor water damage may be present on the edges of the book. For paperbacks, there may be multiple crease marks on the spine.

Synopsis

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?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. In Red Herrings and White Elephants, Albert Jack has uncovered the amazing and sometimes downright bizarre stories behind many of our most familiar and eccentric modes of expression: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.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.

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Details

Bookseller: Thryft (SG)
Bookseller's Inventory #: 47003509162265
Title: Red Herrings and White Elephants
Author: Albert Jack
Book Condition: Used - Fair
Quantity Available: 1
Binding: Paperback
ISBN 10: 1843581299
ISBN 13: 9781843581291
Publisher: Metro Books
Place of Publication: London
This edition first published: October 31, 2004

Terms of Sale

Thryft

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About the Seller

Thryft

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About Thryft

Thryft is an independent seller of used books, clothes and vinyl, and is the largest online used bookstore in Asia. Each book is carefully inspected, graded, and organised by our dedicated team in Singapore. Since we started in 2020, Thryft has now sold more than 50 thousand used books, serving over 10 thousand happy customers. We believe in creating a more sustainable world by making used goods accessible and affordable to all.

Glossary

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Spine: The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
Edges: The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...