The Phrase Finder

Gary Martin of Sheffield Hallam University may be following in the footsteps of John Bartlett. The men share a fascination for the English language, and, just like Bartlett’s notebook of Familiar Quotations was a widely used reference resource on the Harvard College campus in the second half of the nineteenth century, Martin’s Web site, The Phrase Finder, has won kudos for answering questions about the origins and meanings of phrases and sayings. The site has been referenced and commended in several newspapers, including The San Francisco Chronicle, The Irish Times, and the Coventry Evening Telegraph; it...