I Used to Know That – serie

Does absence really make the heart grow fonder?Can beggars be choosers?Is it always better late than never?Proverbs are short, well-known, pithy sayings that offer advice or words of encouragement and are used in everyday English without much thought ever being given to their meanings, or indeed, usefulness. In An Apple A Day Caroline Taggart explores the truth behind our favourite proverbs, their history and whether they offer any genuine help to the recipient. Did you know that The Old Testament has an entire book devoted to proverbs? Or that 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush' is a proverb from falconry that dates back to the Middle Ages? Many proverbs are still in use today, including the very famous 'slow and steady wins the race', which derives from one of the many fables of Aesop. Lighthearted but authoritative, An Apple A Day proves that proverbs are as useful today as they ever were.

'See if you can tell your Tantalus from your Tacitus!' – The Daily Telegraph'This book aims to fill you in on the stuff you wish you'd been taught at school' – The Times______________________A Classical Education is a must-have for anyone feeling let down by modern schooling.How many times have you wished that your history stretched all the way back to Greek and Roman myths and legends? Or that you'd been taught Latin at school? Or perhaps you wish you knew all about the great inventions and medical developments that have made our world what it is today? A Classical Education provides all of these classical facts that modern schooling leaves out, and many more. Perfect for parents who wish to broaden their children's education, as well as for those who would simply like to learn or relearn the facts themselves, A Classical Education is informative and educational, but above all accessible. Subjects include: Latin and Greek; Logic and philosophy; Natural sciences; Art and architecture; Poetry and drama; History and Classical literature.

How on earth did 'with bells on' come to express enthusiasm? What do chips on shoulders have to do with inferiority complexes? ... And who is the face that launched a thousand ships? Spilling the Beans on the Cat's Pyjamas provides us with the meanings of these well-worn and much-loved phrases by putting these linguistic quirks in context, and explaining how and why they were first used. For example, did you know that 'the rule of thumb' refers to the use of the thumb to make measurements, as the first joint of the average adult thumb measures one inch?Absorbing, diverting and fascinating - as far as gift books go, Spilling the Beans really is the bee's knees!

'A collection of favourite half-remembered lines and phrases from school days' – The Times____________________You may remember the famous opening lines, 'Tyger tyger, burning bright'? and 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?' but would you be able to name the poems or the poets? The English language is jam-packed with wonderful verses that we've all heard at some point, but probably forgotten. I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud helps us remember all those long-forgotten poems that we were taught at school, together with short biographies of the poets and introductions to the poems themselves. This well-rounded poetry anthology features such greats as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Shelley, Coleridge, Kipling, Heaney and Yeats, the poems you may have once learned and others that have informed our everyday speech. Complete with a masterly index that allows readers to search not just by first lines, but by well-known phrases, I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud is a perfect addition to any poetry lover's collection.

Covering the biggest names, including Socrates, Seneca, St Augustine, Descartes, Marx and Nietzsche, I Think Therefore I Am provides a handle for all the main -isms and -ologies of western philosophy.Philosophers certainly like to make life sound awfully complicated – whether they're wondering if a falling tree still makes a sound if there's nobody around to hear it (Berkeley) or declaring that everything in the universe is in a state of flux (Heraclitus) – but is philosophy really so complicated? And is it really as irrelevant as it sometimes seems?I Think, Therefore I Am is the ideal way to take the fear out of philosophy. Written in an accessible and highly entertaining style, this book explains how and why philosophy began, and how, from Greek democracy to Communism, the ways in which we live, learn, argue, vote and even spend our money have their origins in philosophical thought.

If you can't tell a possessive pronoun from a correlative conjunction, confuse 'disinterested' and 'uninterested' and struggle with the subjunctive, then I Used to Know That: English has the answers. Relearn the essential rules of the English language, from grammar and punctuation to sentence construction and parts of speech. Also helps to improve your spelling and clarifies the vocabulary that often causes confusion. Focusing on simplicity and clarity, this is an accessible yet fun way to revisit the English language while enjoying a walk down memory lane - and remembering the stuff you really shouldn't have forgotten...

A handy guide to the meanings and origins of the many foreign phrases we use every day.English as we know it today is enriched with many borrowings and influences from other languages. Aficionado, chutzpah, pro bono, hoi polloi, ketchup, nous, zeitgeist – we use these foreign words every day without thinking of their origins, but what do they actually mean? And just how and why did we English speakers absorb such exotic imports? Each phrase has a fascinating history; colonialism, foreign trade, invasion and immigration all have their role to play in the evolution of our language. Did you know, for example, that 'lingua franca' is Italian for 'Frankish language' – a name given to a mixed common language used by diplomats of different nationalities in medieval times? Or that the seemingly modern 'bandana' comes from the Sanskrit for the ancient Indian technique of tie-dying fabric? A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi is an accessible and entertaining treasury of information that 'connoisseurs' (French) of the English language will love!

Taking a quirky and insightful look at the world of numbers, As Easy As Pi will delight and entertain any number enthusiast.In this day and age it's hard to imagine a world without numbers. Our lives are centred around commerce and money, and it is the only language that's the same the world over. However, did you know that for a long period of time people could not get their heads around the idea of zero, a figure representing nothing, and that it was even regarded as heretical in some circles? As Easy As Pi is an entertaining and accessible guide, written for those who love numbers – and those who don't – and uncovers a great deal of lore and intriguing information. Including:- Snippets of fascinating numerical facts - Myths and mysticism in the world of numbers- Numbers in language and used as slang- Pop culture trivia - Useful mathematical rules to remember

If your response to a mention of the Wars of the Roses, the Sumerians or the Reformation is, ‘Hmm, I’ve heard of that – what was that again?’, then this is the book for you. This entertaining yet informative book travels back through time to fill in those embarrassing gaps in your knowledge, from the invasions of Britain, the Renaissance and the Cold War, to the American, French and Russian Revolutions, the World Wars ... and everything else you have forgotten from your school history lessons. In I Used to Know That: History, information is broken down into manageable, bite-sized chunks, refreshing your memory of all those things you once knew but have forgotten, and filling you in on the bits that the school syllabus didn’t include. From building the pyramids in Egypt to the fall of the Berlin Wall, everything you used to know – and much that you didn’t – is here.

Featuring tales of murder, adultery, beheadings, civil war, usurpation and madness, Divorced, Beheaded, Died… takes you on a gallop through the history of all of England’s kings and queens, plus some of the less well-known Scots and Welsh rulers.From Henry VIII dispatching his numerous wives to Edward VIII’s unprecedented abdication, Britain’s monarchs have been responsible for shaping some of the most dramatic moments in British history. Discover the sticky end that befell Edward II, the story of the princes in the Tower, the tale of the queen who reigned for less than a fortnight, and find out whether Macbeth really was a king of Scotland.Presented in an accessible, chronological format, this essential guide will fill in all those gaps in your history knowledge, remind you of those details you’d forgotten, and provide some fascinating and amusing facts about one of the longest-running monarchies in the world.

An informative and accessible guide to all of the great philosophers’ best-known theories, explained through their most famous quotes.We may have heard of Socrates, Plato, Descartes and Nietzsche, but what did they believe? What were their famous aphorisms? And what did these actually mean?This Book Will Make You Think: Philosophical Quotes and What They Mean explains as simply as possible the ideas behind the world's most highly regarded philosophers, examining their beliefs and presenting choice quotes that succinctly distil their most famous theories, such as:‘No man’s knowledge here can go beyond his experience.’ Locke‘If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.’ Voltaire‘Whereof one cannot speak thereof one must be silent.’ WittgensteinWritten in an accessible and informative style, this book will help readers get to grips with the complex concepts of philosophy through the ages, and help match the theories to the names.

A Word a Day contains 365 carefully selected words that will enhance and expand your vocabulary, along with their meanings, origins and sample usage and fascinating word-related facts and trivia.It is estimated that on average an English-speaking adult has acquired a functioning vocabulary of 25,000 words by the time they reach middle age. That sounds like a lot – and more than enough for the daily purposes of communicating with each other in speech and writing. However, it is hard to feel quite so sanguine about our word power when considering those 25,000 words account for less than fifteen per cent of the total words in current usage in the English language. Furthermore, new words are created all the time and, as the word pool flourishes, can we afford to allow our vocabulary to stagnate?Logophile Joseph Piercy has the answer: a simple challenge to learn A Word a Day from this user-friendly onomasticon (that’s a word list designed for a specific purpose – in case you were wondering …). Each of the 365 words have been carefully selected for their elegance and pertinence in everyday situations and every entry contains a clear and concise outline of meaning, origin and sample usage in context, alongside fascinating word related facts and trivia. A Word a Day is a treasure trove of fascination and fun for all language lovers – delve in and enhance your vocabulary.

‘Caroline Taggart has carved out a niche for herself in user-friendly, wittily written factual books.’ – Yorkshire Post______________________The huge variety of colourful phrases contained in the English language are notoriously varied and, often, notably odd. From blue-blooded (an invention of aristocratic Spaniards) to limelight (a way of lighting Victorian theatres), passing an exam with flying colours (an image from sailing ships) to winning hands down (from horse racing), the fascinating expressions that make up our language are explored in Humble Pie and Cold Turkey.In this highly entertaining book, language enthusiast and Sunday Times best-selling author Caroline Taggart browses through thousands of years of history to shed light on why we use the words and phrases we do. Arranged by themes including food, the household, childhood, romance and more, this intriguing book looks at the origins of our language from their historical context. For example, did you know that:If you rest on your laurels, you’re imitating a complacent Roman general?If you eavesdrop, you’re likely to get wet?If you’re taken aback, you should, strictly speaking, be a sailing ship?If you’re galvanized into action, you’re behaving like Frankenstein’s monster?Humble Pie and Cold Turkey will prompt you to question the downright bizarre idioms we use to express ourselves, and answer questions you may never have thought to ask. Including why turkeys need to be cold and how pies came to be humble.

‘Will do for grammar what Eats Shoots and Leaves did for punctuation.’ – The TimesMy Grammar and I steers you in the direction of grammatical greatness, while offering amusing examples of awful grammar to avoid. Taking you on a tour of the English language, through the minefield of rules and conditions that can catch you out, from dangling modifiers to split infinitives, it highlights the common pitfalls that every English language-user faces on a day-to-day basis.Refreshing everything you should have learnt at school and more, My Grammar and I is informative yet entertaining: a must-have reference guide for any English language enthusiast. Thoughtfully updated and beautifully repackaged, this refreshed edition highlights the best bits of the english language, making it perfect as a treat for yourself or as a thoughtful gift for the language lover in your life. A bestseller since 2008, this is sure to become a staple on your bookshelf.

'This is a fascinating book ... it will no doubt be a great source of entertainment around many a dinner table' – She Magazine______________________________A Sunday Times top-ten title in 2008 and a bestseller ever since, I Used to Know That has continued to delight readers with its pages of forgotten facts from our school days.I Used to Know That is an ideal and accessible reference guide for adults wanting to brush up on their lost knowledge – or prepare for a pub quiz!If you've forgotten the capital city of Chile; the basics of osmosis; how to solve a quadratic equation; who wrote the famous poem about daffodils; the use of a conjunction or the number of continents in the world, I Used to Know That is guaranteed to provide all the answers.

'Will do for grammar what Eats Shoots and Leaves did for punctuation' - The Times_______________________A runaway hit and Sunday Times bestseller in 2008, My Grammar and I has continued to grow in popularity, becoming the go-to guide for grammar.My Grammar and I offers amusing examples of awful grammar, while steering you in the direction of grammatical greatness. Taking you on a tour of the English language through the minefield of rules and conditions that can catch you out, from dangling modifiers to split infinitives, it highlights the common pitfalls that every English language user faces on a day to day basis.Refreshing everything you should have learnt at school and more, My Grammar and I is informative yet entertaining: a must-have reference guide for any English language enthusiast.