Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs - New Edition

Another classic reference work from Oxford, updated from the original 1982 edition. The introduction explains that there are three main classes of proverb: abstract statements expressing general truths ('absence makes the heart grow fonder'), specific observations from everyday life that make a general point (taking horses to water) and finally sayings from traditional wisdom and folklore ('feed a cold and starve a fever). Each entry contains several illustrative and usually historical quotations, some of which go back many centuries. The reader appreciates the richness of idiom as well as the ways in which usage is sometimes constant and yet is seen to evolve.