The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations

by Oxford University Press

Book Overview

As Emerson once said, "By necessity, by proclivity--and by delight, we all quote." We quote from the Bible and from Shakespeare, from Churchill and Will Rogers, we quote to amuse our friends, to spice our conversation or our writing, to lend authority to what we say. We even quote without knowing whom we quote, saying "love conquers all" (Virgil, The Aeneid) or "damn with faint praise" (Pope, Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot).
In this revised and expanded...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0192800701
• ISBN13: 9780192800701
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 606 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.1" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

Genius's Pick

On gulf war, in a speech on 7th Jan 1991, Saddam Hussein reported that he was ready for the `mother of all wars' (Page 176) and so goes on the many a quotes by over 9000 spoken by politicians to pop stars, literature figures to bible! This book is amazing `The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations' - a handy guide to be `Perfectionist' to show wits in a group to quip a quote around on any occasion. This is a good companion with exhaustive entries of quotes with useful alphabetical index and listing with easy search at the back pages of the book. The cover illustration is impressive alongwith back review that says at a glance about the Quotes mentioned from Literature genius like Homer, Shakespeare, Milton, Hugo, political leaders who made history, singers like bob marley, film stars to bible quotes and so on. There are quotes mentioned from letters, speeches, diaries and people we never heard before with literary or other published works quoted. This book sure increase our levels of intelligence and road ahead to be a wee bit of genius in terms of `showing off' to quip a quote in group get-togethers, speeches, etc. A good pick & a sure `Great Choice Pick' if one is especially fond of Literature & poetry.

A Very Useful Reference

I found this to be a very useful reference as a writer. Especially when trying to find that right quote from a person of authority to illustrate a point in an article or essay. I marvel at the amount of work that must have gone in to compile this text. It is extremely user friendly with a great cross referencing index to help you find any quote you may be seeking. It is also quite enjoyable to just wander through and randomly read the interesting comments, realizations and originations these famous people had to offer about mankind, the world and society around them. A treasure chest of interesting data to say the least. I highly recommend owning a copy.