- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (Jan 15 1978)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0415065550
- ISBN-13: 978-0415065559
- Product Dimensions: 19.1 x 12 x 2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 259 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#1,062,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7 in Books > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Cliches
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Clichés, the "coin(s) so battered by use as to be defaced," are anathema to Eric Partridge. He says, "their ubiquity is remarkable and rather frightening," and while he likens proverbs to expressions of wisdom, he says, clichés are instances of "inanition." They all sound familiar, for such is the nature of the cliché. What, for example, does "in the event of an emergency" add, beyond verbosity, instead of "in an emergency"? And so, from "abject apology" to "your guess is as good as mine," he lists, explains, and categorizes more than 2,000 trite and tired phrases to avoid "at all costs."
Book Description
This work is full of things better left unsaid: hackneyed phrases, idioms battered into senselessness, infuriating Gallicisms, once-familiar quotations and tags from the ancient classics. It makes a formidable list, amplified as it is with definitions, sources, and indications of the clichés, venerability in every case.
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not a bad book but what's the point?,
By A Customer
This review is from: A Dictionary of Cliches (Paperback)
As always, Eric Partridge does a first class job putting this book together. But why do we need a dictionary of cliches? Partridge says so that we know what phrases to avoid using at all costs. Well, if you're not smart enough to know the phrase you're using is a cliche, you're definitely not the type of person who will read this book.This book does make for a good bathroom reader, though.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews) 1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A more comprehensive title to consider,
By David Nickell - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Dictionary of Cliches (Paperback)
I haven't read Partidge's "Dictionary of Cliches" (the four stars is for the concept), but I just ordered a more comprehensive similar book called "The Facts on File Dictionary of Cliches" by Christine Ammer. Partridge cites 2,000 examples. By contrast, Ammer lists twice as many. No matter which book you choose, such a dictionary is indispensable to anyone who loves words, cares about the language, writes or edits for a living or has aspirations to write the Great American Novel. I spent the last 14 years as a professional copy editor and am now engaged in writing a first novel. I am meticulous to the point of anal-retentiveness, but cliches still creep into my writing -- so surreptitiously that they sometimes slip past me. I would speculate that every writer has exactly the same problem. A dictionary like Ammer's or Partridge's is the equivalent of a can of Raid to ferret out those miscreants and kill them dead. In answer to the earlier reviewer, even smart people can lapse into falling back on cliches. Because they are so insidious and widespread, they are at the forefront of our minds whenever we write just about anything. A dictionary of cliches can help keep you vigilant and on your guard.
3 of 7 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not a bad book but what's the point?,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Dictionary of Cliches (Paperback)
As always, Eric Partridge does a first class job putting this book together. But why do we need a dictionary of cliches? Partridge says so that we know what phrases to avoid using at all costs. Well, if you're not smart enough to know the phrase you're using is a cliche, you're definitely not the type of person who will read this book.This book does make for a good bathroom reader, though. |
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