Spilling The Beans On The Cat's Pyjamas
You wouldn't be barking mad' if, when asked the definition of certain phrases, the cat got your tongue and you clammed up'. Let's not "beat about the bush': the English language is littered with linguistic quirks that, on closer examination, seem utterly fantastical.
In Spilling the Beans on the Cat's Pyjamas, the perennially engaging Judy Parkinson explores the many colourful - but rather incomprehensible - phrases that enhance our language, describing their origins and defining their true meanings.
From identifying 'Gordon Bennett' to locating 'cloud nine'
, Parkinson
"spills the beans' in an absorbing volume that really is the bee's knees'.
 
i before e (except after c)
i before e (except after c) is a fun mix of reference and nostalgia, featuring all the mnemonics you'll ever need to know. Taking you back to the classroom, it contains an assortment of practical memory aids covering a range of different subjects, including: spelling • time and the calendar
mathematics • scientific formulae
historical facts • general trivia.
From memorable childhood rhymes and phrases, to acronyms, rules and sayings, each pithy prompt is guaranteed to amuse, inform and entertain.