Did you know that 'Jedburgh justice' is executing someone first, then giving them a trial? Or that 'Kentish fire' is applauding sarcastically to silence your opponents?
From Paul Anthony Jones, author of Haggard Hawks & Paltry Poltroons, this is a fascinating guide to the origins and histories of 500 phrases and expressions, divided into fifty absorbing lists of ten - from 10 Phrases Derived From Places In London (like a 'Kent Street ejectment') to 10 Latin Phrases Used In English (like 'nunc est bibendum'); from 10 Shakespearean Expressions (like 'gild the lily') to 10 Phrases Taken From Comics & Cartoons (like 'keeping up with the Joneses'); and from 10 Phrases Taken From Songs (like 'the birds and the bees') to 10 Ways of Saying 'Wow' (like 'great Scott!').
Here you'll find the story of how a flock of geese saved a city, how an apple started an argument, where the first Gotham City was, and why the tale of an unlucky saddler proves you should never turn down the offer of a drink. There's also a terrifically funny joke about a robbery gone wrong, and a terrifically bad joke about a chimpanzee and a parrot all waiting to be uncovered.
