Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
From Emmabella's Easter Alphabet
"...I made a resolution there and then. I was going to read all of Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. The only slight drawback to this plan is that it’s 1,324 pages long so it was going to take me some time... My plan meant that I’d have to spend a lot more time in the Library which was no bad thing. I already went about once a week. Now I would have to go more often...
...Helping him up, I said, ‘Come on then you abbey-lubber.’
‘What does that mean?’ he asked.
‘It means you’re an idle loafer.’
He laughed again (he was definitely delirious), ‘Where did you get that from?’
‘It’s in Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. I’m reading it at the moment.’
‘You’re reading a dictionary?’
‘Yes.’
‘A whole dictionary?’
‘Yes.’
‘From cover to cover?’
‘Yes. It’s taking me a while because it’s a reference book so I can only read it in the Library.’"
"...I made a resolution there and then. I was going to read all of Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. The only slight drawback to this plan is that it’s 1,324 pages long so it was going to take me some time... My plan meant that I’d have to spend a lot more time in the Library which was no bad thing. I already went about once a week. Now I would have to go more often...
...Helping him up, I said, ‘Come on then you abbey-lubber.’
‘What does that mean?’ he asked.
‘It means you’re an idle loafer.’
He laughed again (he was definitely delirious), ‘Where did you get that from?’
‘It’s in Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. I’m reading it at the moment.’
‘You’re reading a dictionary?’
‘Yes.’
‘A whole dictionary?’
‘Yes.’
‘From cover to cover?’
‘Yes. It’s taking me a while because it’s a reference book so I can only read it in the Library.’"
You can discover more about E Cobham Brewer and his wonderful dictionary in my essay here.
And here is a short animation I made - watch as the 18th edition of the Dictionary magically appears before your eyes.
And here is a short animation I made - watch as the 18th edition of the Dictionary magically appears before your eyes.
Here are some interesting extracts from the world's greatest dictionary; clicking on the title cards will take you to the full extract:
