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RR 2004/25 The Phrase Finder Gary Martin Sheffield Hallam University 2003 URL: http://phrases.shu.ac.uk Gratis Last visited September 2003
Keyword English language
Review DOI 10.1108/09504120410513258
Gary Martin of Sheffield Hallam University may be following in the footsteps of John Bartlett. The men share a fascination for the English language, and, just like Bartlett's notebook of Familiar Quotations was a widely used reference resource on the Harvard College campus in the second half of the nineteenth century, Martin's Web site, The Phrase Finder, has won kudos for answering questions about the origins and meanings of phrases and sayings. The site has been referenced and commended in several newspapers, including The San Francisco Chronicle, The Irish Times, and the Coventry Evening Telegraph; it is also linked from numerous library and writing centre Web sites.
The Phrase Finder provides " [a] list of the meanings and origins of over a thousand phrases, sayings, quotes, and clichés in English". The phrases are broken down into nine categories: proverbs; quotes; euphemisms; misheard song lyrics; phrases from Shakespeare; what football is all about; popular fallacies; did you know; and biblical. Each category provides varying...