A dictionary of English proverbs and proverbial phrases — Key Ideas to Explore

Produced by Delphine Lettau, Lisa Reigel, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

Transcriber's Notes: Variations in spelling and hyphenation have been left as in the original. Words in italics in the original are surrounded by _underscores_. Ellipses match the original.

A few typographical errors have been corrected. A complete list follows the text.

THE FAMILIAR QUOTATIONS SERIES OF BOOKS.

Price 1s. cloth; 1s. 6d. half-bound in leather, red edges.

1. FAMILIAR LATIN QUOTATIONS & PROVERBS.

2. FAMILIAR FRENCH QUOTATIONS & PROVERBS.

3. FAMILIAR ENGLISH QUOTATIONS.

4. A HANDY CLASSICAL DICTIONARY.

5. BIBLE TRUTHS WITH SHAKESPEARIAN PARALLELS. By J. B. Selkirk.

6. A HANDY BOOK OF SYNONYMS, CONTAINING ABOUT 33,000 ENGLISH WORDS.

7. THE SECRETARY'S ASSISTANT AND CORRESPONDENT'S GUIDE. Nineteenth Edition.

8. TOURIST'S FRENCH PRONOUNCING HANDBOOK.

9. REASONS WHY WE BELIEVE THE BIBLE. By the Rev. James Copland, M.A.

10. TALES FROM SHAKSPEARE. By Charles Lamb.

11. A DICTIONARY OF DAILY BLUNDERS CORRECTING THEM.

12. RASSELAS. By Dr. Johnson.

13. ELIZABETH, OR THE EXILES OF SIBERIA.

14. REJECTED ADDRESSES.

15. A DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH PROVERBS.

16. PLUTARCH'S LIVES OF ILLUSTRIOUS MEN.

17. DE QUINCEY'S OPIUM-EATER.

18. THE STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. By the Rev. A. Carter, M.A.

19. A DICTIONARY OF MYTHOLOGY.

20. MOORE'S IRISH MELODIES.

21. MOORE'S LALLA ROOKH.

Coloured edges, 3s. each.

1. HANDBOOK FOR WRITERS & READERS (_English_).

2. REFERENCE HANDBOOK OF QUOTATIONS, _English, French and Latin_.

3. LAMB'S TALES FROM SHAKSPEARE, RASSELAS, & ELIZABETH.

4. REFERENCE HANDBOOK FOR BIBLE & GENERAL READERS.

5. HANDBOOK FOR WRITERS & READERS (_Classical_); CLASSICAL DICTIONARY, PLUTARCH, AND MYTHOLOGY.

A COPIOUS INDEX OF PRINCIPAL WORDS

_SELECTED AND ARRANGED_

'A DICTIONARY OF DAILY BLUNDERS,'

'A HANDY BOOK OF SYNONYMS,'

LONDON: WHITTAKER & CO.

"The genius, wit, and spirit of a nation are discovered by their proverbs."--LORD BACON.

Long before writing and books were in common use, proverbs were the principal means of imparting instruction. In modern times there is not so much need to apply these old sayings as a means of educating the people, but they are still constantly met with in the newspapers and in general literature, and they are rightly considered as "The texts of common life."

The late Earl Russell very aptly described a proverb as "The wisdom of many and the wit of one." We value proverbs chiefly as moral maxims teaching some practical lesson set forth in concise, pithy sentences, which are fixed in the memory without effort, and retained without being burdensome. They have been found useful for guidance in almost every condition of life; but, on the other hand, it is quite true that many dangerous precepts have been propounded in proverbs, and some of the older ones gave such questionable advice, or were couched in such objectionable language, that they have been very properly omitted from every collection intended, as this is, for general use. Other old proverbs have become obsolete, and as their meaning is now obscure, they have not been included in the Dictionary.

This series of "Handy Books" would hardly be complete without a collection of English Proverbs. Many books on the subject have been written, but it is hoped that this collection will, in some respects, be found to be an improvement on all its predecessors. Like _The Dictionary of Daily Blunders_, this _Dictionary of English Proverbs_ has been framed so as to enable the reader to find what he wants without difficulty. The Dictionary itself is arranged according to the principal words, and there is also a Copious Index of additional principal words.