The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer

Product Description

"Bite the bullet", " get on the stick", "make no bones about it", " take the cake". The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of Idioms covers almost 10,000 expressions. Its main fare is, of course, idioms - groups of two or more words that together mean something different from the literal meaning of the individual words. In addition, this book discusses verb phrases such as " act up", "freeze out", and " get down", figures of speech such as "dark horse" and "blind as a bat", interjections and formulas like "says who" and " tough beans", common proverbs like a "bird in the hand", and slang terms such as "buy the farm" and "push up daisies". Each entry is defined and has an example sentence showing the expression in context. Most entries offer an explanation of the expression's literal meaning or origin and include information about its first appearance in English.
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #538901 in Books
Published on: 1997-04-01
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
736 pages
Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Nothing expresses the vitality, history, and character of a language quite like its idioms. Ask any non-native English speaker to make sense of a phrase such as "beg the question" or "keep your eyes peeled"; they can't do it. Idioms don't translate, which is what makes them such intriguing mirrors of how a culture evolves along with its speech. The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms includes almost 10,000 of these figures of speech, slang phrases, clichés, colloquialisms, and proverbs, from "ace in the hole" to "zoom in on." Each entry defines an idiom, uses it in a sentence, then pinpoints its historical origins when possible. Some idioms, it turns out, preserve words or word uses that have otherwise fallen out of use ("one fell swoop"); others allude to long-forgotten catch phrases from movies or advertising ("more bounce for the ounce"). Consider, for instance the phrase "funny bone"--actually a pun on "humerus," the Latin name for the bone of the upper arm. Or the expression "moment of truth," a translation from the Spanish phrase originally referring to bullfighting--and first popularized, not surprisingly, by Ernest Hemingway. The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms is like an archeological dig through the vernacular, and it unearths treasures such as these on every one of its pages. All those interested in language or its history should keep a copy on their library shelves.

From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up?This excellent survey of almost 10,000 contemporary idioms has a clear format and large type, which should make it particularly appealing to young readers and non-native speakers. In addition to idioms, the dictionary includes common figures of speech, formula phrases such as "take care," emphatic redundancies whose word order cannot be reversed such as "cease and desist," common proverbs, colloquialisms, and slang phrases. Each expression is defined briefly and then illustrated by a short, simple sentence showing how it is used in context. Information regarding the expression's origin or background is given, along with its date of first appearance, if known. Although more detailed discussions of some words might be found in other classic works, the emphasis here is on understanding contemporary American usage. This resource is invaluable as a teaching tool.?Mary H. Cole, Polytechnic Preparatory Country Day School, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Amazon.com : Nothing expresses the vitality, history, and character of a language quite like its idioms. Ask any non-native English speaker to make sense of a phrase such as "beg the question" or "keep your eyes peeled"; they can't do it. Idioms don't translate, which is what makes them such intriguing mirrors of how a culture evolves along with its speech. The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms includes almost 10,000 of these figures of speech, slang phrases, clichés, colloquialisms, and proverbs, from "ace in the hole" to "zoom in on." Each entry defines an idiom, uses it in a sentence, then pinpoints its historical origins when possible. Some idioms, it turns out, preserve words or word uses that have otherwise fallen out of use ("one fell swoop"); others allude to long-forgotten catch phrases from movies or advertising ("more bounce for the ounce"). Consider, for instance the phrase "funny bone"--actually a pun on "humerus," the Latin name for the bone of the upper arm. Or the expression "moment of truth," a translation from the Spanish phrase originally referring to bullfighting--and first popularized, not surprisingly, by Ernest Hemingway. The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms is like an archeological dig through the vernacular, and it unearths treasures such as these on every one of its pages. All those interested in language or its history should keep a copy on their library shelves.
Customer Reviews

idoims
If english is your second language it will be usefull for you to have it .it also use most of idioms in sentence as a sample, cool

unimpressive
I rarely use this dictionary because I also own Cassell's Dictionary of Slang by Jonathon Green, which is decidedly superior. This Dictionary of Idioms at first seems a more scholarly approach to the subject, but soon falls short of expectations as its selection of words is relatively small and mostly consists of the most well known slang. For more unusual words, I have always had to refer elsewhere.

Excellent Study Aid
Really a wonderful reference. It goes to study with me every day now. Very clearly written and descriptive definitions including very good idiom history data.

Some examples - I found more unexpected data on the idiom "by and large" here than in the biggest bulkiest dictionary in the courseroom. Also the idiomatic definition of "washed-out" was the best I've ever read. "Dead as a doornail" was another good one.

This book is now indispensable to me. Bravo to the author!

ARC,

Simon