Allen's Dictionary of English Phrases is the most comprehensive survey of this area of the English language ever undertaken. Taking thousands of phrases, it explains their meaning, explores their development and gives citations that range from the Venerable Bede to Will Self. Crisply and wittily written, the book is packed with memorable and surprising detail, whether showing that 'flavour of the month' originates in 1940s American ice cream marketing or that we've been 'calling a spade a spade' since the sixteenth century.