Idiomantics is a unique exploration of the world of idiomatic phrases. The very etymology of the word 'idiom' reveals what's so endlessly fascinating about the wide range of colourful phrases we use in everyday speech: their peculiarity. They're peculiar both in the sense of being particular or unique to the culture from which they originate, and in the sense of being downright odd. To cite three random examples - from American English, Dutch and Italian - what on Earth are a snow job, a monkey sandwich story, and Mr Punch's secret? Fascinating and illuminating, Idiomantics explains all... The ideal gift for word buffs and in fact, anyone who enjoys a good yarn, this playful book looks at 12 groups of idioms around the world, looking at subjects such as fun and games, gastronomic delights and the daily grind.
None of the Germanic tribes whose incursions into the Roman empire contributed to its eventual downfall has enjoyed a good ... British insularity used to be encapsulated in the outraged cry, 'I'm not eating any of that foreign muck!
Praise for Philip Gooden: 'Another clever criminal plunge into history' Guardian 'The witty narrative, laced with puns and word play so popular in this period, makes this an enjoyable racy tale' Sunday Telegraph 'The book has much in common ...
A fun and informative guide to some of the more obscure, curious and tricky words in the English language.
Praise for Philip Gooden: 'Highly entertaining' Sunday Times 'The witty narrative, laced with puns and word play so popular in this period, makes this an enjoyable racy tale' Sunday Telegraph 'The book has much in common with the film ...
The house was in Grove Street, off the High. It was a fine house and belonged to the wool merchant husband of the woman called Maria, the one whom Jack had been seeing – or seeing to, perhaps. Our playing comrade had been looking ...
When the Black Death strikes London, all the theatres are closed down by order of the Privy Council.
Praise for Philip Gooden: 'Highly entertaining' Sunday Times 'The witty narrative, laced with puns and word play so popular in this period, makes this an enjoyable racy tale' Sunday Telegraph 'The book has much in common with the film ...
The third Shakespearean murder mystery in the Nick Revill series, set during the reign of the formidable Elizabeth I. Praise for Philip Gooden: 'Another clever criminal plunge into history' Guardian 'The witty narrative, laced with puns and ...
This is a unique history of literature as presented through the collected and annotated prefaces of major writers, including commentary by a range of authors including James Kelman, A.L. Kennedy, and Virginia Woolf.
During a rehearsal the courtier Sir Philip Blake dies an apparently accidental death when he tumbles from a 'Deus ex machina' chair which is lowering him to the stage The sixth Shakespearean murder mystery in the Nick Revill series, set ...