Have any idea where the word "nerd" came from, or "twerp"? This dictionary starts where ordinary references beg off. Discover that bad hair day was originated by California teenagers in the early 1990s. Learn that bikini comes from the name of a Pacific island used in the 1940s for atomic bomb tests. Learn why a flight data recorder is called a black box--even though it's orange.
Have any idea where the word nerd came from? This dictionary starts where ordinary references beg off. Discover that bad hair day was originated by California teenagers in the early 1990s. Learn that bikini comes from the name of a Pacific island used in the 1940s for atomic bomb tests. Learn why a flight data recorder is called a black box—even though it’s orange.
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Revised and expanded edition of a perennial favourite Explains the meaning and origins of expressions as diverse as 'cut the mustard', 'take a rain check', 'red tape' and 'bring home the bacon'. Includes expressions that have entered the language recently
Nigel Rees is the author of over 50 books, including the CASSELL DICTIONARY OF HUMOROUS QUOTATIONS and the CASSELL COMPANION TO QUOTATIONS. He is the deviser and presenter of BBC Radio's QUOTE...UNQUOTE, through which he has become an authority on the popular use of language in slogans, catchphrases, cliches, idioms and quotations.
