Red Herrings and White Elephants - Albert Jack

• the Bear

  26 Feb 06, 17:39

  This is not really a book per se. Rather, it is a collection of origins of phrases we take for granted.
  
  
  
  It also has a sequel in Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep.
  
  
  
  Both are chock-full of stories of how phrases like "Use your loaf" (from Cockney rhyming slang: loaf of bread = head) and "To run amuck" (comes from the Malaysian word amok).
  
  Loosely connected into chapters, it is a wonderfully whimsical read.
  
  Recommended if you have an interest for trivia and the English language. 3 out of 5.