Endangered Phrases: Intriguing Idioms Dangerously Close to Extinction

By Steven D. Price

As the world changes, so does language . . . An A-to-Z guide to expressions from yesteryear that are becoming increasingly scarce.
 
“Person to person” (and “station to station”), “bar sinister,” “the weed of crime bears bitter fruit,” “between the devil and the deep blue sea,” “will o’ the wisp,” “poor as Job’s turkey” . . . these are just a few phrases that were once part of everyday speech. However, due to the evolving nature of language and numerous cultural changes, there are hundreds of phrases poised on the brink of extinction.
 
Can such endangered phrases be saved? Steven D. Price, award-winning author and keen observer of the passing linguistic scene, answers in this challenging and captivating compilation filled with definitions and discussions of the history behind the phrases. It is sure to increase your appreciation of the English language’s ebb and flow—and enhance your own vocabulary along the way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jun 22, 2011
• ISBN: 9781626369733

Steven D. Price

Steven D. Price is the author or editor of more than forty books, including the bestselling The Whole Horse Catalog, the prize-winning The American Quarter Horse, The Quotable Horse Lover, and All the King’s Horses: The Story of the Budweiser Clydesdales. He lives in New York City, rides whenever and wherever he can, and numbers Don Burt among the finest horsemen he’s known.

Reviews for Endangered Phrases

[thothj · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"Three sheets to the wind: very drunk
Despite what it sounds like to nonsailors, a 'sheet' isn't a sail. It's the rope that secures the sail's edge or corner to the mast or the vessel itself. A sheet that comes loose flaps erratically, much like a drunken sailor weaving his way back to the ship after a night's alcoholic revelry. Three sheets blowing in the wind would be even worse."

"Wet blanket: a spreader of gloom
What could put more of a damper on a lovely summer day picnic than a wet ground cloth---unless it's a person who, by word or deed, spoils everyone's fun? Such a spoilsport at any otherwise enjoyable event goes by the epithet 'wet blanket', better known to recent generations as a party pooper."

"Tilt at windmills: fight imaginary enemies or fight a battle that can't be won.
'Tilt' means 'joust' as in mounted knights fighting each other with lances. In Miguel Cervantes's 'Don Quixote', the Man of La Mancha came upon a row of windmills and took them for giants, their flailing arms ready to do battle. Despite his squire Sancho Panza's pointing out that they were windmills, Don Quixote set his lance, spurred his steed Rocinante, and charged the 'enemy'. Alas for the Knight of Woeful Countenance, the windmills prevailed. Anyone who similarly takes on a losing cause is tilting at windmills.

[Kambi Briggs · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was fun to flip through, but frankly I’ve heard a majority of these within the last few months, so I wouldn’t say they’re dangerously close to extinction. But still a good fun flip!