''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'', sometimes referred to simply as ''Brewer's'', is a

reference work A reference work is a document, such as a Academic publishing#Scholarly paper, paper, book or periodical literature, periodical (or their electronic publishing, electronic equivalents), to which one can refer for information. The information ...

containing definitions and explanations of many famous phrases,

allusion Allusion, or alluding, is a figure of speech that makes a reference to someone or something by name (a person, object, location, etc.) without explaining how it relates to the given context, so that the audience must realize the connection in the ...

s, and figures, whether

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

mythical Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

. The "New Edition revised, corrected, and enlarged" from 1895 is now in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

, and Web-based versions are available online. The most recent version is the 20th edition, published in November 2018 by Chambers Harrap Publishers.

History

Originally published in 1870 by Cassell, Petter & Galpin and written by the Reverend E. Cobham Brewer, it was aimed at the growing number of people who wanted to understand the origins of phrases and historical or literary allusions, but did not have a university education. The 'phrase' part of the title refers mainly to the explanation of various idioms and proverbs, while the "fable" part might more accurately be labelled "

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

" and ranges from classical

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

to relatively recent literature. On top of this, Brewer added notes on important historical figures and events, and other things which he thought would be of interest, such as

Roman numerals Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...

. Brewer's provides information often not included in more traditional dictionaries and encyclopaedias. A "New Edition revised, corrected, and enlarged" of 1440 pages was published by the author in 1895, not long before he died. Since then, it has been continually republished; in revised and updated editions.

Editions

* 1st (1870): E. Cobham Brewer ** (Several times reprinted, mostly with no date) * "New Edition revised, corrected, and enlarged" (1895): E. Cobham Brewer ** (Reprints: 1896, 1897, 1898, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1909, and others with no date) * 2nd (1953) * 3rd (1954) * 4th (1956) * 5th (1959) * 6th (1962) * 7th (1963) * 8th (1963) * 9th (1965): John Freeman * 10th (1968) * 11th "Centenary Edition" (1970), revised by Ivor H. Evans. * 14th (1989) * 15th (1995):

Adrian Room Adrian Richard West Room (27 September 1933, Melksham – 6 November 2010, Stamford, Lincolnshire, Stamford, Lincolnshire)''Contemporary Authors Online'', Gale, 2002; accessed 20 May 2013. was a British toponymist and onomastician, a Fellow of the ...

. * 16th "Millenium Edition" (1999) : Adrian Room. * 17th (2005): John Ayto. * 18th (2009): Camilla Rockwood. * 19th (2012): Susie Dent. * 20th (2018): Susie Dent.

''Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase and Fable''

This retitled and updated version, initially edited by

, was first published in 2000 (). A second edition (), edited by Ian Crofton and John Ayto, was published on 30 November 2010. While this title is based on the structure of ''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'', it contains entries from 1900 onwards and exists alongside its parent volume as a separate work.

Other special editions

A variety of spin-off editions have been published in the past, some straying quite far from the theme of 'phrase and fable', such as ''Brewer's Dictionary of Cinema'' (1997) and William Donaldson's A–Z of 'roguish Britons', '' Brewer's Rogues, Villains and Eccentrics'' (2002). ''Brewer's Dictionary of London Phrase and Fable'' was published in 2009 and '' Brewer's Dictionary of Irish Phrase and Fable'' was reissued at the same time.

References

External links

Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
(Philadelphia: Henry Altemus Company, 1898) "New Edition, Revised, Corrected and Enlarged": searchable web-format at Bartleby.com
''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable''
(New York: Harper and Brothers, 1953?) "Revised and Enlarged" edition: page scans at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...