Harry Oliver

I love language. I love slang and colloquialisms, so it's no surprise that I looked forward to reading this book with a great deal of anticipation.

Flying by the Seat of Your Pants is a good, solid gathering of everyday expressions for a beginner. For someone who's more conversant with expressions and their origins, there's not going to be much that's new although it may be fun to touch base again with old favorites and realize that your memory's still in good shape.

I do have one word of show more warning for potential readers. The author, Harry Oliver, is British; therefore, many of these everyday expressions have their origins in the UK. For Anglophiles like me, this is no problem, but for those who aren't interested in how folks across the pond speak, they may want to give this compilation a miss. (On the other hand, why not broaden your knowledge a bit?) show less

Fascinating look at the history of various British sayings, landmarks, cultural icons and alike.

Not much info here, mostly saying "no one knows the origin". That would be quite all right if there was humor or graphics to add interest.

Surprising origins of everyday expressions