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Red Herrings and White Elephants The Origins of the Phrases We Use Everyday

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ISBN-10: 0061117749

ISBN-13: 9780061117749

Edition: N/A

Authors: Albert Jack

List price: $12.99
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Description:

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?Frombringing 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. InRed 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 abootlegger, your profession recalls the Wild West outlaws who sold illegal alcohol by concealing slender bottles of whiskey in their boots. If…    
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Book details

List price: $12.99
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada, Limited
Publication date: 1/1/2005
Binding: E-Book 
Language: English

Albert Jack is a writer and historian. His first book, Red Herrings and White Elephants, explored the origins of well-known phrases and was an international bestseller. The book was serialised by the Sunday Times for over a year. He followed up this success with further bestsellers including Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep and Pop Goes the Weasel, a book exploring the dark histories and little-known meanings behind nursery rhymes.Fascinated by discovering the truth behind the worlds great stories, Albert has become an expert in explaining the unexplained. He is now a veteran of hundreds of live television shows and thousands of radio appearances worldwide. He divides his time between Guildford…