This is an authoritative and hugely browsable treasury of over 15,000 sayings, adages, and maxims commonly used in the United States and Canada, including thousands that have never previously been recorded. Based on oral and written sources, it is the culmination of over 40 years' research, and covers thousands of uniquely American proverbs as well as those hailing from classical, biblical, European, and English literature.

Edited by Wolfgang Mieder, Chairman, Department of German and Russian, University of Vermont, Stewart A. Kingsbury, late Professor of English, Northern Michigan University, and Kelsie B. Harder, Professor of English, State University College of Arts and Sciences, Potsdam, New York

"'This elaborate book is the fruit of nearly 50 years' work in the field. The book will help journalists desperate for an unusual gnomic peg and is good bedside browsing.' Philip Howard, Times Saturday REview"