Preposterous Proverbs

Why Fine Words Butter No Parsnips

Max Cryer

$29.95

Paperback

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English

Exisle
04 November 2011

Language: reference & general; Reference; Popular philosophy

From our earliest years we have heard proverbs, and many of them are repeated without much thought. Yes, ‘birds of a feather flock together’ and ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’, but these sayings are so familiar that we are scarcely aware they are proverbs. It has been so for thousands of years, in every culture. It is only when someone like Max Cryer takes the time to look at them that we can see how these ‘pearls of wisdom’ have played such a key role in the moral guidance of every society. Sometimes the wisdom is distinctly odd, sometimes it has become outdated, and sometimes it is simply contradictory. After all, do ‘many hands make light work’ or do ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’? You can’t really have it both ways.

In 'Preposterous Proverbs', Max Cryer looks at a vast array of proverbs from around the world. Proverbs on birth, food, women and love rub shoulders with others on money, animals, sin and death. He has chosen some of the most interesting and perplexing, and with his characteristic wry wit he analyses their meaning and truth. A great book to dip into, 'Preposterous Proverbs' will take you from Greece (‘A thousand men cannot undress a naked man’) and China (‘A dry finger cannot pick up salt’) to Japan (‘Fools and scissors must be carefully handled’) and India (‘A fat spouse is a quilt for the winter’).

By: Max Cryer
Imprint: Exisle
Country of Publication: New Zealand
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 126mm, Spine: 17mm
Weight: 350g
ISBN: 9781921497452
ISBN 10: 1921497459
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 04 November 2011
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Out of Print

Max Cryer is a language expert with many years' experience of researching and writing on the subject. A well-known broadcaster and entertainer, he hosts a weekly radio slot on quirks of the English language. In a long career, he has been a schoolteacher, a compere and television host, as well as a performer on the opera stage in London and in cabaret in Las Vegas and Hollywood. Max is now a full-time writer living in Auckland.

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Preposterous Proverbs

Why Fine Words Butter No Parsnips

Max Cryer

$29.95

Paperback

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