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Various editions of this book are available online in digitized form. But that shouldn't stop you from getting your own physical copy. Nothing can rival the joy of browsing through it - you're bound to learn something fascinating along the way. As Terry Pratchett says in the Foreword, it's a storehouse of "little parcels of serendipitous information of a kind that are perhaps of no immediate use, but which are, nevertheless very good for the brain." First published in 1870, Brewer's has flourished for over a century. It has always been the reference book that "reaches the parts others cannot", the option you try if what you are looking for is not in a standard dictionary or encyclopedia. Even if you don't find what you're looking for, chances are you'll uncover something even more interesting. The fact that it has reached its 17th edition (published in 2005) suggests that it clearly meets a need, even if its exact scope can be hard to pin down precisely. Certainly, one need look no further with a question about ‘traditional’ myths and legends – from the Erymanthian boar to the Swan of Tuonela, from Aarvak and the Abbasids to zombies and Zoroastrians, they’re all covered. The latest edition updates the mythical pantheon to include such creatures as the Balrog and Nazgûl, Voldemort and Dumbledore, the Psammead and Zaphod Beeblebrox, to name only a few.This twentieth edition of Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable encapsulates all the charm and wit that characterise its predecessors and maintains the standards of scholarship and eclecticism that have long been its hallmark. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2011-04-28 20:44:13 Bookplateleaf 0006 Boxid IA138524 Boxid_2 CH100801 Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II City New York Containerid_2 X0001 Donor

Find sources: "Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( August 2013) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (Philadelphia: Henry Altemus Company, 1898) "New Edition, Revised, Corrected and Enlarged": searchable web-format at Bartleby.com [ dead link] Much loved for its wit and wisdom since 1870, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable takes you on a captivating adventure through its trademark blend of language, culture, myth and legend. Nowhere else could the histories of the guillotine and Guinness stout sit so comfortably alongside the KGB and the Keystone Kops. Brewer's is a catalogue of curiosities and absurdities that, over almost 150 years in print, has acquired near-mythical status. Mini-review: Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable - Miscellany". Economist.com. 2012-10-05 . Retrieved 2018-07-29.

Validity: This dictionary, first published in 1870, is in its 17th edition, so terms, etc. have been updated and weeded with the passing of time; reviewed by reputable source (Library Journal) The "New Edition revised, corrected, and enlarged" from 1895 is now in the public domain, and Web-based versions are available online. Purpose: A dictionary of terms, phrases, expressions, etc. to help students understand figurative language in literature But as always, it’s the weird tidbits, stumbled across by sheer accident, that are the real delight. For instance, I could certainly have gotten through my entire life without knowing about the blue men of the Minch . But knowing that they are legendary beings who haunt the Minches (the channels separating the Outer Hebrides from the rest of Scotland), occasionally bothering sailors, enriches my life. The added information that they are either kelpies or fallen angels, and are reputed to drag mariners to the bottom of the sea if they fail to answer questions in rhyming couplets (in Gaelic, naturally), fills me with unutterable glee.

While the proper title of the 1894 edition was the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, future versions of the dictionary began incorporating Brewer's name in the title, in the same way that Bartlett's Familiar Quotations eventually included its original author's name in the title. Ebenezer Cobham Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable is one of the English-speaking world's classic reference books. First published in England in 1870, the volume is now in its 17th edition. Infoplease is honored to present Brewer's 1894 “new and enlarged” edition, which was the last version Brewer himself worked on—he died three years after its publication at age 87. This edition is opened by a reproduction of the Brewer's autographed "Preface to the New and enlarged Edition of 'Phrase and Fable' 1894", which is dated "Autumn 1894". The most recent version is the 20th edition, published in November 2018 by Chambers Harrap Publishers.

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Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, sometimes referred to simply as Brewer's, is a reference work containing definitions and explanations of many famous phrases, allusions, and figures, whether historical or mythical. Much loved for its wit and wisdom since 1870, Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable takes you on a captivating adventure through its trademark blend of language, culture, myth and legend. As Susie Dent explains in the foreword, Brewer’s “is not a straightforward dictionary, nor is it an encyclopaedia. It is, in fact, unlike any other reference book that exists, anywhere.” This nineteenth edition encapsulates all the charm and wit that characterise its predecessors and maintains the standards of scholarship and eclecticism that have long been its hallmark.