Synopses & Reviews
"....The current work, ably edited by prolific lexicographer Room...borrows the style and approach of the original dictionary but focuses on material from the 20th to the 21st centuries....this approachable work contains more than 8,000 entries....required by all meaningful reference collections."--
Library Journal. "...includes colloquialisms, idioms, catchphrases, slang expressions, acronyms, trade names, organizations, events, fictional characters, and titles of films, plays, novels, television programs, and works of art....a valuable record of 20th century words, expressions, and cultural allusions."--
Booklist.
Synopsis
Want to know where the character of Bambi originated? (Hint--it wasn't Disney!) Or, are you dazed and confused about how this term came into use? And, when did the Loch Ness Monster first show its nearly 20-foot self? Diverse, entertaining, and often unexpected, this thoroughly modern dictionary offers a unique blend of word and phrase etymology, cultural allusion, and general knowledge. It includes over 8,000 words, idioms, catchphrases, slogans, names and nicknames, big events, and titles of books, films, and TV shows. Even the language of computer technology is here, and many of the definitions are backed up with quotations from contemporary literature and the media. You'll get great scholarly information--with generous helpings of sheer fun!
Synopsis
From “American Express” to “American Psycho”, the “Zapata moustache” to the “Zinoviev letter”, take an up-to-date look at the diverse and entertaining linguistic landscape of our culture. Here, deftly defined and intriguingly displayed, are thousands of words, phrases, slogans, names, events, and titles of songs, books, films, and TV programs that resonate with English-speaking people everywhere. “Peerless...Brewers has kept ahead of the game by compiling this marvelous compendium....It has captured the flavor of the past 100 years.”—
The Times