What constitutes a modern proverb? That is a crucial question when evaluating this dictionary. It contains 1,400 entries which sounds impressive but many of them do not have the structure of an old‐fashioned strictly defined proverb. There seems little proverbial about phrases included here such as: Gentlemen prefer blondes, Pain is beauty, All you need is love.
The definition of modern is easy enough: appearing for the first time in the twentieth or twenty‐first centuries. The definition of proverb is more problematic. One standard view is that a proverb should contain both metaphor and a moral element, as in A stitch in time saves nine, but the compilers in their introduction state that “old said saw” was a sixteenth century synonym for proverb and they write of looking for “new said saws”. Their own definition is: “full sentences […], formulaic though variable in wording, that express general observations, assertions or propositions, usually (but not always) with the presence of some figurative aspect or application”. It is therefore best to regard this as a dictionary of modern sayings, or even clichés.
The compilers stress that this collection differs from others in the breadth of sources used, notably electronic datasets covering many varieties of English, and in meticulous attention to detail to ensure that their data are genuinely modern. They seem less concerned that items are genuinely proverbial.
The arrangement of entries follows carefully laid‐out rules. This is important as there is no keyword index, an aspect which would have made the book a more useful reference tool and could have replaced much of the extensive cross‐referencing of variants. For example, Do not throw a monkey wrench in the works, is entered under monkey, with see references for the full sentence from spanner and wrench. The entries are alphabetised according to either the first noun in its singular form, or if there is no noun, the first finite verb in its base form. This leads to many entries under “empty words” such as Man, even though this is usually not what would be considered the keyword in the proverb. It also means there have to be numerous see references from other similar terms such as person, guy, woman or boy. Similar patterns occur with phrases entered under Thing, such as “no such thing as a free lunch”. This makes the book feel clumsy in some ways but the cross‐referencing seems exhaustive and numerous variations are included for many of the entries. About half the entries consist simply of one or more citations of use, starting with the earliest. The remainder also include explanations or comments on usage.
One interesting aspect of the book is the inclusion of numerous anti‐proverbs and counter‐proverbs. The term anti‐proverb, coined by one of the compilers Wolfgang Mieder, is an “allusive distortion, parody, misapplication or unexpected contextualization of a recognized proverb, usually for comedic or satiric effect” e.g. Beauty is only skin; Absence makes the heart go wander.
Charles Clay Doyle, also a compiler, coined the term counter‐proverb which is an “overt negation” or “explicit denial of the proverb's assertive truth”, usually without irony or humour. An example is: One rotten apple does not spoil the whole barrel. Sometimes proverbs and counter‐proverbs seem to have arisen almost simultaneously, notably: Life is just a bowl of cherries vs. Life is not a bowl of cherries, which both seem to have originated in 1931. These aspects provide an intriguing and original element to the book.
This dictionary could be of interest to students of twentieth century developments in the English language and of changes in language usage. The emphasis is largely American but there are entries from many varieties of English and good cross‐referencing between American and other forms. The book is attractively laid out with a plain but striking dust jacket. At £25 for a solid hardback, this is good value but do not expect to find dozens of alternatives for classic phrases such as, never judge a book by its cover.
