Product Description

Does absence really make the heart grow fonder? Can beggars be choosers? Is it always better late than never? Proverbs are short, well-known, pithy sayings that offer advice or words of encouragement and are used in everyday English without much thought ever being given to their meanings, or indeed, usefulness. In "An Apple A Day"...Caroline Taggart explores the truth behind our favourite proverbs, their history and whether they offer any genuine help to the recipient. Did you know that "The Old Testament" has an entire book devoted to proverbs? Or that 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush' is a proverb from falconry that dates back to the Middle Ages? Many proverbs are still in use today, including the very famous 'slow and steady wins the race', which derives from one of the fables of Aesop, a slave in ancient Greece born in 620BC. Lighthearted but authoritative, "An Apple A Day"...proves that proverbs are as useful today as they ever were - so you'd better strike while the iron is hot and get this great stocking filler for Christmas 2009!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1305 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

Review
"Exploring well-known proverbs, their origins, meanings and relevance to life today, this is a fun and fascinating book to dip into, written by an author with a neat sense of humour." --Choice, December issue 09

Customer Reviews

Too much opinion and personality
If you like Caroline Taggart you will like this book. I don't know Caroline Taggart so I found this book which is full of personal observations to be too much like an extension of waffling newspaper opinion pieces. However, you may like the lighthearted almost gossipy manner.

I've noticed recently a trend for people to explain obvious things like they are uncovering forgotten truths. Starting off the book by deliberately conjoining 'Too many cooks spoil the broth' with 'Many hands make light work' and expecting us not to understand their different meanings I found insulting.

Still, it is sensibly laid-out and doesn't stint in revelation, and if it doesn't fulfil the promise of explaining why the proverbs still work then most are surely self-evident in any case. If it's just proverbs you're after it is easier to leaf through than Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable and often more informative, if not as ultimately satisfying.

author's voice
this book made my laugh out loud. The author's voice comes over very well and it is like having a chat with an old (and amuzing) friend. I especially liked the reference to 'Brief Encounter'!