Catch Phrases, Clichés and Idioms

Catch phrases such as “shop till you drop,” clichés like “life begins at forty” and idioms such as “talk the hind leg off a donkey” have long enriched the English language. Here is a collection of thousands of familiar expressions—a treasure trove of idea-starters and memory-joggers that will make for more imaginative creative writing.
An advertising copywriter working on a campaign for, say, a granola-peanut product can easily find the instantly-recognizable phrase “Energy Crunch”—a clever and informative headline.
Each phrase is cross-referenced by key word. Thus “raining cats and dogs,” for example, appears under “cat,” “dog” and “rain.” In most cases, various forms of the word are listed under the root word. So under “run” you will find not only sayings that include the word “run,” but those that include “running,” “runneth,” “runner” and “run-around.”

Retired advertising executive Doris Craig lives in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

Compiled by Doris Craig
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 238
Bibliographic Info:
Copyright Date: 2012 [1990]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6760-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0741-2
Imprint: McFarland

“an excellent candidate for purchase by academic and public libraries and would be a handy reference on anyone’s desk next to the desk dictionary and thesaurus”—Booklist; “if you ever wanted a list of catch phrases, clichés and idioms in the English language, this collection of about 6000 familiar expressions is it”—Australian Library Review.