Who Said That First?: The Curious Origins of Common Words and Phrases
Language: English
Published by Summersdale 03/10/2011, 2011
- Hardcover
- Used

Seller: AwesomeBooks, Wallingford, United KingdomAwesomeBooks
AbeBooks seller since November 28, 2006
Condition: Used - Very good
£ 2.85
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. .
Seller Inventory # 7719-9781849531917
- Title
- Who Said That First?: The Curious Origins of Common Words and Phrases
- Author
- Max Cryer
- Publisher
- Summersdale 03/10/2011
- Publication year
- 2011
- Condition
- Very Good
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 1849531919
- ISBN 13
- 9781849531917
Who first wrote ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’, ‘accidentally on purpose’ or ‘no pain, no gain?'
Did you know that there is no evidence Queen Victoria said ‘We are not amused’ or Marie Antoinette proclaimed ‘Let them eat cake’, but ‘iron curtain’ was in use for 40 years before Winston Churchill said it, and we have P. G. Wodehouse to thank for ‘straight from the horse’s mouth’?
This witty and accessible compendium reveals the obscure origins of over 500 common phrases, dispelling myths and offering plenty of fascinating facts to delight the trivia-holic in all of us.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review
'Who Who Who gave Santa his catchphrase? Father Christmas will soon be chortling "Ho, Ho, Ho!" to excited children - but where did he get that from? New book Who Said That First? explores the often obscure origins of more than 500 common phrases. Some may sound, well, Beyond the Pale, and you might say: Naff Off! But do you know where a Blood Mary tipple gets its name?'
(The Sun)Featured on
(Today Programme BBC Radio 4)Featured on
(Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5)Featured on
(BBC World Service)'this book's happy mission is to restore credit to the creative people who first said (or at least wrote down) "hit the nail on the head"..."small but perfectly formed"... "I'll eat my hat"..., and so on... Cryer also unearths some surprising facts... Cryer has worked hard and writes a pleasingly compact prose. Or, in other words that probably won't catch on: he gives good microstyle.'
(The Guardian)'a brilliant book exploring the curious origins of common words and phrases. If you've ever pondered where 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder' comes from, you'll like this.'
(St Christopher's Live Your Life e-zine)'This book will open up many a debate in pubs and homes everywhere.'
(Best of British)'This is one of those delightful books that is so enjoyable to get lost in but can also be very useful for settling an argument... From classical terms such as 'bread and circuses' to modern adjectives like 'metrosexual', there are so many rich references here.'
(The Good Book Guide)'The kind of delightful book you get lost in, and that is also useful for settling an argument about the origin of certain sayings.'
(The Good Book Guide)"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
AwesomeBooks
Wallingford, United Kingdom
AbeBooks seller since November 28, 2006
Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.
| Item | 4 to 15 business days | 4 to 15 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 4.12 | £ 4.12 |
Payment methods
Store description
Started in an unfortunate mother's basement in 2004 with books that a student layabout no longer needed, AwesomeBooks now stocks over 2 million titles which are ready to be sent to your door within 24hours of ordering. Our heritage is in supplying great quality used books. We have over 1.8 million books in our distribution centre ready to be shipped to you at any time. We also sell new books and are increasing our range of titles every day.
Specialty
Used Books, New BooksSeller's business information
WRAP Ltd
Unit 4,, 119 Loverock Road
Reading, United Kingdom RG30 1DZ
Terms of sale
All our books are used in either Good or Very Good condition. Should there be any problems after purchase email us and we will sort it out to your satisfaction.
Right of withdrawal
If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
Information regarding the right of withdrawal
Statutory right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to AwesomeBooks, Wallingford, United Kingdom, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal
The right of withdrawal does not apply to:
- The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
- The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.
Shipping terms
We try to keep our shipping terms as simple as possible.