A reference book like no other, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable has been an inspiration to readers, writers and adventurous thinkers everywhere from its first appearance in the reign of Queen Victoria right up to the present day. Authors as diverse as Philip Pullman, Sir Terry Pratchett, Maeve Binchy and Carol Rumens are all devoted fans. This remarkable book offers a rich mixture of more than 19,000 words, expressions, legends, folklore, general knowledge and choice morsels of trivia, with explanations of everything from elephant in the room to sick as a parrot, from Doctor Who to dwile flonking.

The sheer scope of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, together with its delightful mix of scholarship and eccentricity, makes it a must for every 21st-century bookshelf.

As Sir Terry Pratchett once put it:-
'An idiosyncratic adventure, pulling you in and saying: "This is, in fact, not what you were looking for; but it's much more interesting."'

Of all the dictionaries in the world [Brewer's] is the most like a treasure-hunt, where one phrase leads to another, and that to a third, and before you know what's happened, it's time for lunch.
Philip Pullman.