Who Put the Butter in Butterfly?: And Other Fearless Investigations into Our Illogical Language

By David Feldman

Book Overview

Bestselling author and pop-culture pundit David Feldman demystifies our language's most curious cliches and quips. From cooties and mugwumps to Ps and Qs and Peeping Tom, this is a doozie of a diversion.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060916613
• ISBN13: 9780060916619
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

A fun and illuminating look at our linguistic past.

Who Put the Butter in Butterfly? David Feldman A fun and interesting look at the everyday phrases used so often in the English language. This book is just what trivia junkies crave. No, it is not great literature, so what? Just look at the cover and the title..... What were you thinking, "War and Peace?", get real. This is a fun romp into those odd expressions that we all use in everyday life and for the most part have no idea where they come from. I for one enjoyed the book very much. Some of the phrases listed in this book, like: Dog Days, Lady Bugs, the Real McCoy's and Hoodwink I have known for years. Others like: Stolen Thunder, Pin Money, or Tinkers Dam, (and many others ), I had not a clue. All and all a non-stuffy and amusing book that gives the reader an entertaining look at why we say the things we do. If we can't understand our past and laugh a bit at it, the future becomes increasingly gray. In Frith, Spence The Elder "Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc" M. Addams