Mad hatter . . . pie in the sky . . . egg on your face. We use these phrases every day, yet how many of us know what they really mean or where they came from?
From bringing home the bacon to leaving no stone unturned, the English language is peppered with hundreds of common idioms borrowed from ancient traditions and civilizations throughout the world. In Red Herrings and White Elephants, Albert Jack has uncovered the amazing and sometimes downright bizarre stories behind many of our most familiar and eccentric modes of expression:
If you happen to be a bootlegger, your profession recalls the Wild West outlaws who sold illegal alcohol by concealing slender bottles of whiskey in their boots. If you're on cloud nine, you owe a nod to the American Weather Bureau's classification of clouds, the ninth topping out all others at a mountainous 40,000 feet. If you opt for the hair of the dog the morning after, you're following the advice of medieval English doctors, who recommended rubbing the hair of a dog into the wound left by the animal's bite.
A delightful compendium of anecdotes on everything from minding your p's and q's to pulling out all the stops, Red Herrings and White Elephants is an essential handbook for language-lovers of all ages.

Red Herrings and White Elephants: The Origins of the Phrases We Use Every Day

Humor & Entertainment

Jack, Albert

Puzzles & Games

Harper

Did you know that an assassin is a hashish-eater and a yokel a country woodpecker? That Dr Mesmer mesmerized patients back to health or that Samuel Pepys enjoyed a good game of handicap? While we're at it, what have spondulics to do with spines or lawyers with avocados? Here Albert Jack collects more than 500 of the strangest, funniest-sounding, and most delightful words in the English language, and traces them back to their often puzzling origins. While brushing up on your gibberish or gobbledygook, discover why bastards should resent traveling salesmen, why sheets should remain on tenterhooks, and why you should never set down a tumbler before finishing your drink. From blotto to bamboozle and from claptrap to quango, Albert Jack's addictive anecdotes bring the world's most colorful language to life and are guaranteed to surprise and entertain.

It's a Wonderful Word: The Real Origins of Our Favourite Words

History

Historical Study & Educational Resources

Arrow

Albert Jack gathers together all the strangest, sickest, funniest and most unforgettable urban legends and recounts them with his usual deadpan humour. More than just a collection of urban legends, this is also a detective story. Exploring the real events behind conspiracy theories, the exaggerations of history and the assumptions of old wives' tales and self-help books amongst many, many other things, Albert Jack shows us that the truth can definitely be stranger than fiction.

Thats Bollocks

Reference

Penguin Uk

Albert Jack now turns his attention to the mysteries that have haunted us throughout history. "Albert Jack's Ten Minute Mysteries" cleverly combines his research with riveting stories and hilarious observations. All life's most perplexing questions answered: UFOs, Crop Circles and Alien invasions Where is the Mona Lisa? (clue: it's not in the Louvre) Is the Loch Ness Monster really a circus elephant? Will the real Paul McCartney please stand up? What happened to the Mary Celeste? Who killed Marilyn Monroe? What was Agatha Christie's own mystery? Who was Jack the Ripper? And many, many more...With enough entertaining information to fuel hundreds of pub conversations, fascinating illustrations and all kinds of discoveries to surprise even the most expert conspiracy theorist, "Albert Jack's Ten Minute Mysteries" is the perfect present for anybody who's ever wondered why...

Albert Jacks Ten Minute Mysteries: The Worlds Secrets Explained From The Real Loch Ness Monster To

Shaggy Dogs And Black Sheep: The Origin Of Even More Phrases We Use Everyday

Thats Bollocks: Urban Legends Conspiracy Theories And Old Wives Tales

Pop Goes the Weasel: The Secret Meanings Of Nursery Rhymes

In Pop Goes the Weasel, Albert Jack explores the strange and fascinating histories behind the nursery rhymes we thought we knew, showing that their real meanings are far from innocent. Who were Mary Quite Contrary and Georgie Porgie? How could Hey Diddle Diddle offer an essential astronomy lesson? And if Ring a Ring a Roses isn't about catching the plague, then what is it really about? This ingenious book delves into the hidden meanings of the nursery rhymes and songs we all know so well and discovers all kinds of strange tales ranging from Viking raids to firewalking and from political rebellion to slaves being smuggled to freedom. From the grim true story behind 'Oranges and Lemons' to the deadly secrets of Mary Quite Contrary's garden, and from how Lucy Locket lost more than her pocket to why Humpty Dumpty wasn't egg-shaped at all, Pop Goes the Weasel is a compendium of surprising stories you won't be able to resist passing on to everyone you know. 'An irresistible treasure-trove' Daily Mirror 'Most of us can still recite the words to nursery rhymes we learned as children, but how many know the real meanings behind our most familiar verses? Albert Jack reveals hidden histories of cannons, courtesans and vengeful queens' Guardian 'The history behind nursery rhymes is not only highly specific but often splendidly grim' The Times Albert Jack has become something of a publishing phenomenon, clocking up hundreds of thousands of sales with his series of bestselling adventures tracing the fantastic stories behind everyday phrases (Red Herrings and White Elephants), the world's great mysteries (Loch Ness Monsters and Raining Frogs) and nursery rhymes (Pop Goes the Weasel).

Humor

Loch Ness Monsters And The Raining Frogs: The World's Most Puzzling Mysteries Solved

'Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. Was Sir Winston Churchill really a Druid? Did Charlie Chaplin lose a lookalike competition? Did The Who's drummer Keith Moon drive his Rolls Royce into a swimming pool? The man with the answers is Albert Jack...' - "Daily Express". From Walt Disney's frozen head to the kidnap of JFK's brain, Albert Jack gathers together all the strangest, sickest, funniest and most unforgettable urban legends and recounts them with his usual deadpan humour. But this is more than just a collection of urban legends, it is also a detective story. Exploring the real events behind conspiracy theories, the exaggerations of history and the assumptions of old wives' tales, Albert Jack shows us that the truth can definitely be stranger than fiction.

Phantom Hitchhikers and Decoy Ducks: The Strange Stories Behind The Urban Legends

Literature & Fiction

Albert Jack's Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep is a compulsively readable, highly enlightening look at the phrases we use all the time but rarely consider. The English language is crammed with colourful phrases and sayings that we use without thinking every day. It's only when we're asked who smart Alec or Holy Moly were, where feeling 'in the pink' or 'once in a blue moon' come from, or even what letting the cat out of the bag really means that we realize that there's far more to English than we might have thought. Luckily enough, we now have Albert Jack. And rather than resting on his laurels after the enormous success of Red Herrings and White Elephants, he has continued his search around the world, exploring the origins of hundreds more phrases. The fascinating stories he has uncovered come from the rich traditions of the navy, army and law to confidence tricksters and highwaymen, from the practices of ancient civilizations to Music Hall and pubs. Determined to chase each shaggy dog story to the bitter end, his discoveries are even stranger and more memorable this time round. From the skin of your teeth to the graveyard shift - you'll never speak (or even think) English in the same way again. Albert Jack has become something of a publishing phenomenon, clocking up hundreds of thousands of sales with his series of bestselling adventures tracing the fantastic stories behind everyday phrases (Red Herrings and White Elephants), the world's great mysteries (Loch Ness Monsters and Raining Frogs) and nursery rhymes (Pop Goes the Weasel).

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Jack, Albert. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Jack, Albert

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Jack, Albert. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Red Herrings and White Elephants: The Origins of the Phrases We Use Every Day

It's a Wonderful Word: The Real Origins of Our Favourite Words

Thats Bollocks

Albert Jacks Ten Minute Mysteries: The Worlds Secrets Explained From The Real Loch Ness Monster To

Shaggy Dogs And Black Sheep: The Origin Of Even More Phrases We Use Everyday

Thats Bollocks: Urban Legends Conspiracy Theories And Old Wives Tales

Pop Goes the Weasel: The Secret Meanings Of Nursery Rhymes

Loch Ness Monsters And The Raining Frogs: The World's Most Puzzling Mysteries Solved

Phantom Hitchhikers and Decoy Ducks: The Strange Stories Behind The Urban Legends

Shaggy Dogs And Black Sheep: The Origin Of Even More Phrases We Use Everyday