The Definitive Compendium PHRASEOLOGY THOUSANDS of BIZARRE ORIGINS, UNEXPECTED CONNEC , and FASCINATING about ENGLI EXPRESSIONS ACROSS THE BOARD AN ALLUSION TO THE BOARD DISPLAYING THE ODDS IN A HORSE RACE COMES FROM REMOVING THE TOUGH SKIN FROM A CATFISH PRIOR TO COOKING BITE THE BULLET i METHOD OF BITING A LEAD BULLET FOR PAIN GICAL ARTESIAN WELLS PUSHING THE ENVELOPE HUMBLE PIE FROM ARTOIS, WHERE A PILOT'S TERM FOR FLYING AN DERIVATION OF UMBL SUCH WELLS WERE FIRST AIRCRAFT AT OR BEYOND THE MEAT PIE MADE WITE MADE AND USEL ITS REASONABLE LIMITS ONGUE AND ENTRAILS ARABIC BELL FIT TO BE NUMERALS PENNY TIED = x) je NAMED BECAUSE THES! MONEY ONE REFERS 10 BEING INSANE AND SAVES FOR BOUND, AS IN A STRAIGHT NUMBERS WERE INTRODUCED TO EUROPE BY THE ARABS HIS OWN FUNERAL JACKET TIED TO THE BODY BARBARA ANN KIPFER, PHD Author of Word Nerd and 14,000 Things to Be Happy AboutCopyright © 2008 by Barbara Ann Kipfer Cover and internal design © 2008 by Sourcebooks, Inc. Cover design by Stewart Williams Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc. All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, regis- tered trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders. Sourcebooks, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor in this book. Published by Sourcebooks, Inc. P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410 (630) 961-3900 Fax: (630) 961-2168 www.sourcebooks.com Cataloging.in-Publication data is on file with the publisher. Printed and bound in the United States of America DR10987654321A.1. steak sauce is so named for its being “the very best,” and it was created in 1824 @ cappella is Italian for “in chapel style” the phrase @ coups de dictionnaire means “with blows of a diclionory, with constant reference to a dictionary” a cup too low means to not have drunk ‘enough to be in good spirits 4 fortiori means “stronger reason, still more conclusively” (from Latin) @ Ia is a compound preposition before nouns, and the corresponding masculine prep: ion is au, as in au pair 4 la carte is French, literally “by the card,” in other words, “ordered by separate items” 4 la Florentine means with spinach la mede for beef means “made in a rich stew, usually with wine and vegetables” la nigoise refers to hot or cold dishes with tomatoes, black olives, garlic, and ancho- vies; also called nicoise Aclist first meant “first in a series of lists” (1890) the phrase a number of is used with plural nouns [it is a determiner) and the verb should therefore be plural: "A number of people are waiting to buy tickets” 4 posteriori, Latin “from the latter,” refers fo an argument which proves the cause from the effect to cook something @ point means “just enough, not overcooked or undercooked” a priori comes firs!” is from Latin, literally “from what ab ove, “from the beginning,” is from Latin, literally “from the egg” an abat-jour is a skylight or device for deflecting light downward an Abbott and Costello is frankfurters and beans in diner slang abbreviated piece of nothing is slang for a worthless or insignificant person