Know your Onions: A Light-Hearted Look at Idioms

Have you ever wondered about the origins of those sayings we use every day without thinking? A hat trick, for example? Apparently, in 1858 a certain H.H. Stevenson, cricketer, took three wickets with three consecutive balls. It was such a feat that a hat was purchased and presented to him. The practice of scoring three times in a single match in various sports has been known as a hat trick ever since. In this charming and informative anthology, Allan Goodbrand brings together a selection of his favourite sayings and similes, and leavens the results of his research with his own quirky observations. For a hat trick, for example: 'I wonder what would have happened if he had been presented with some other item instead of a hat. 'A trouser trick' might give the wrong impression altogether, and a 'two crystal tumblers and a decanter trick' just isn't as catchy is it?'