Why Do We Say That? 101 Idioms, Phrases, Sayings & Facts! A Brief History On Where They Come From!

Calling shotgun for the front seat, cutting to the chase, hearing gossip through the grapevine: we say these things every day without stopping to wonder where they came from. Scott Matthews gathers 101 everyday idioms, proverbs and turns of phrase, and for each one explains how it was coined, how its meaning shifted over the centuries and how it settled into the sense we use now.

The stories range from the sensible to the wonderfully odd. Matthews links raining cats and dogs to the streets of seventeenth-century London, taking something with a grain of salt to an ancient remedy for poison, and running amok to Southeast Asian warrior traditions. The short entries make it easy to dip into, and it suits curious children and word-loving grown-ups alike, anyone who enjoys a surprising fact to share over dinner.