Publisher's Synopsis
Recent years have seen a resurgence in the popularity of the catchphrase with TV shows like The Simpsons and The Fast Show sending their phrases echoing round the streets and clubs in a way reminiscent of the 'golden age' of the show business catchphrase which may be said to have lasted from the 1930s to the 1960s. The new phrases researched by author Nigel Rees for this second edition of Cassell's Dictionary of Catchphrases (the first edition originally appeared in 1995) are drawn from a wide range of popular cultural sources. From advertising slogans to movie lines, from political sound-bites to popular songs, and from TV gameshows to TV comedies, they constitute a richly entertaining reflection of the linguistic and cultural developments of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Among the scores of new phrases included in the book are: 'all done up like a pox-doctor's clerk', 'are you there, Moriarty?', 'I'm not so green as I'm cabbage looking', 'it does exactly what it says on the tin', 'location, location, location', 'lorra lorra laffs', 'not a happy bunny', 'suits you, sir!', 'which was nice' and - last but not least - 'does my bum look big in this?'
