A Dictionary of American Proverbs

A Dictionary of American Proverbs PDF

Author: Wolfgang Mieder

Publisher: New York : Oxford University Press

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 1348

ISBN-13: 0195053990

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Americans have a gift for coining proverbs. "A picture is worth a thousand words" was not, as you might imagine, the product of ancient Chinese wisdom -- it was actually minted by advertising executive Fred Barnard in a 1921 advertisement for Printer's Ink magazine. After all, Americans are first and foremost a practical people and proverbs can be loosely defined as pithy statements that are generally accepted as true and useful. The next logical step would be to gather all of this wisdom together for a truly American celebration of shrewd advice.A Dictionary of American Proverbs is the first major collection of proverbs in the English language based on oral sources rather than written ones. Listed alphabetically according to their most significant key word, it features over 15,000 entries including uniquely American proverbs that have never before been recorded, as well as thousands of traditional proverbs that have found their way into American speech from classical, biblical, British, continental European, and American literature. Based on the fieldwork conducted over thirty years by the American Dialect Society, this volume is complete with historical references to the earliest written sources, and supplies variants and recorded geographical distribution after each proverb.Many surprised await the reader in this vast treasure trove of wit and wisdom. Collected here are nuggets of popular wisdom on all aspects of American life: weather, agriculture, travel, money, business, food, neighbors, friends, manners, government, politics, law, health, education, religion, music, song, and dance. And, to further enhance browsing pleasure, the editors have provided a detailed guide to the use of the work. While it's true that many of our best known proverbs have been supplied by the ever-present "Anonymous," many more can be attributed to some very famous Americans, like Ernest Hemingway, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain, J. Pierpont Morgan, Thomas Alva Edison, Abigail Adams, and Ralph Waldo Emerson, to name but a few offered in this fascinating collection.Who wouldn't want to know the origin of "the opera ain't over till the fat lady sings?" This uniquely American proverb and many more are gathered together in A Dictionary of American Proverbs. A great resource for students and scholars of literature, psychology, folklore, linguistics, anthropology, and cultural history, this endlessly intriguing volume is also a delightful companion for anyone with an interest in American culture.

The Girls and Boys of Belchertown

The Girls and Boys of Belchertown PDF

Author: Robert N. Hornick

Publisher: Univ of Massachusetts Press

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 155849944X

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During much of the twentieth century, people labeled "feeble-minded," "mentally deficient," and "mentally retarded" were often confined in large, publicly funded, residential institutions located on the edges of small towns and villages some distance from major population centers. At the peak of their development in the late 1960s, these institutions--frequently called "schools" or "homes" --housed 190,000 men, women, and children in the United States. The Girls and Boys of Belchertown offers the first detailed history of an American public institution for intellectually disabled persons. Robert Hornick recounts the story of the Belchertown State School in Belchertown, Massachusetts, from its beginnings in the 1920s to its closure in the 1990s following a scandalous exposé and unprecedented court case that put the institution under direct supervision of a federal judge. He draws on personal interviews, private letters, and other unpublished sources as well as local newspapers, long out-of-print materials, and government reports to re-create what it was like to live and work at the school. More broadly, he gauges the impact of changing social attitudes toward intellectual disability and examines the relationship that developed over time between the school and the town where it was located. What emerges is a candid and complex portrait of the Belchertown State School that neither vilifies those in charge nor excuses the injustices perpetrated on its residents, but makes clear that despite the court-ordered reforms of its final decades, the institution needed to be closed.

Let Us Make Men

Let Us Make Men PDF

Author: Tarik Scott

Publisher:

Published: 2019-02-05

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 9781795320054

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Let Us Make Men is for the Single Black Mother raising a son and is looking for direction to fill in the blanks that she may be missing. This book is written for the young black male looking to discover his manhood and himself. Finally this book is for the broken black adult male who is ready to repair himself and lead his family and community.

Ontario Boys

Ontario Boys PDF

Author: Christopher J. Greig

Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press

Published: 2014-02-04

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 1554589029

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Ontario Boys explores the preoccupation with boyhood in Ontario during the immediate postwar period, 1945–1960. It argues that a traditional version of boyhood was being rejuvenated in response to a population fraught with uncertainty, and suffering from insecurity, instability, and gender anxiety brought on by depression-era and wartime disruptions in marital, familial, and labour relations, as well as mass migration, rapid postwar economic changes, the emergence of the Cold War, and the looming threat of atomic annihilation. In this sociopolitical and cultural context, concerned adults began to cast the fate of the postwar world onto children, in particular boys. In the decade and a half immediately following World War II, the version of boyhood that became the ideal was one that stressed selflessness, togetherness, honesty, fearlessness, frank determination, and emotional toughness. It was thought that investing boys with this version of masculinity was essential if they were to grow into the kind of citizens capable of governing, protecting, and defending the nation, and, of course, maintaining and regulating the social order. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, Ontario Boys demonstrates that, although girls were expected and encouraged to internalize a “special kind” of citizenship, as caregivers and educators of children and nurturers of men, the gendered content and language employed indicated that active public citizenship and democracy was intended for boys. An “appropriate” boyhood in the postwar period became, if nothing else, a metaphor for the survival of the nation.

So You Want to Raise a Boy?

So You Want to Raise a Boy? PDF

Author: W. Cleon Skousen

Publisher: Verity Publishing

Published: 1962

Total Pages: 346

ISBN-13: 093436463X

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In writing this book, Dr. Skousen takes considerable comfort from the fact that there are no “experts” on the subject of raising boys. He comes about as close as anyone, since he is the father of five sons and three daughters—and the grandfather of fifty grandchildren. In this book is his description of “boyhood” from birth to the age of twenty-one, a portrait of physical and emotional development, year by year, an outline of behavior patterns and problems and how parents should react to them. He considers such matters as the boy’s relation to the family, adjusting to school, stuttering, telling tales, and even such everyday problems as getting a boy to clean up his room or take a bath. Inevitably there will be difficult boys and with this in mind Dr. Skousen gives helpful and knowledgeable advice to parents about alcohol, drugs, and suggested preventative measures. Without preaching and with a fine sense of humor and good common sense, Dr. Skousen has compiled a concrete guide to raising non-delinquent boys who are happy and well-adjusted. This eBook includes the original index, illustrations, footnotes, table of contents and page numbering from the printed format.

Congressional Record

Congressional Record PDF

Author: United States. Congress

Publisher:

Published: 1956

Total Pages: 1390

ISBN-13:

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The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record began publication in 1873. Debates for sessions prior to 1873 are recorded in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (1789-1824), the Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873)