The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs

Published by Yale University Press 2012

The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs

Compiled by: Wolfgang Mieder , Fred R. Shapiro and Charles Clay Doyle

https://doi.org/10.12987/9780300183351

Overview
Contents

About this book

"You can't unring a bell." "It takes a village to raise a child." "Life is just a bowl of cherries." We sometimes think of proverbs as expressions of ancient wisdom, but in fact new proverbs are constantly arising. This unique volume is devoted exclusively to English language proverbs that originated in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The most complete and accurate such collection ever compiled, The Yale Book of Modern Proverbs presents more than 1,400 individual proverbs gathered and researched with the help of electronic full-text databases not previously used for such a project.

Entries are organized alphabetically by key words, with information about the earliest datable appearance, origin, history, and meaning of each proverb. Mundane or sublime, serious or jocular, these memorable sayings represent virtually every aspect of the modern experience. Readers will find the book almost impossible to put down once opened; every page offers further proof of the immense vitality of proverbs and their colorful contributions to the oral traditions of today.

Author / Editor information

Charles Clay Doyle is associate professor of English and linguistics, University of Georgia, and president of the Western States Folklore Society. He lives in Athens, GA. Wolfgang Mieder is chair, Department of German and Russian, and professor of German and folklore, University of Vermont. He is the founding editor of Proverbium: Yearbook of International Proverb Scholarship. He lives in Burlington, VT. Fred R. Shapiro is associate librarian and lecturer in legal research at Yale Law School. He is the author or editor of several previous books, including the The Yale Book of Quotations. He lives in Bethany, CT.

Topics

General Interest

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	vii
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	ix
How To Read The Entries Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xiii
Proverbs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Appendix: Some No Longer “Modern” Proverbs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	287
Works Cited Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	291

Language: English
Publisher: Yale University Press
Pages
- Main content: 416

eBook

Published: May 22, 2012
ISBN: 9780300183351