Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms

This handy and well‐thought‐out book out was a joy to review. From the simple definition of an idiom as “a phrase whose meaning is different from the meanings of each word considered separately”, through well‐laid out pages with keywords that stand out, to the subject index at the end, this is a delightfully uncluttered and user‐friendly book for the home and library reference shelves.

The idioms are arranged alphabetically by headwords – basically the first‐cited noun, though clear guidance is given where this does not apply. Other forms of the same idiom may follow; then a note which gives information...