The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes

The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes PDF

Author: Iona Opie

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 1997-10-30

Total Pages: 592

ISBN-13: 9780198600886

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From `A was an apple-pie' to `Yankee Doodle came to town', this classic dictionary brings together over 500 nursery rhymes, songs, nonsense jingles, lullabies, and rhyming alphabets traditionally handed on to young children. Each item comes with a unique set of notes recording its origins, publishing history, literary associations, variations, parodies, and parallels in other languages. This second edition has been revised throughout to incorporate the results of recent bibliographical scholarship, and includes a new essay on the singing tradition of nursery rhymes by Cecily Raysor Hancock. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes remains the standard work on the subject, for scholars, parents, and children alike.

The Secret History of Nursery Rhymes

The Secret History of Nursery Rhymes PDF

Author: Linda Kathryn Alchin

Publisher: Linda Alchin

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 97

ISBN-13: 0956748627

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Many nursery rhymes are believed to be associated with actual events in history, and include references to murder, torture, betrayal, greed, and to tyrants and royalty. The words were remembered but their secret histories were forgotten. Political satire was cleverly disguised in the wording of some, seemingly innocent, nursery rhymes. Although some of the most popular Nursery Rhymes are rooted in English history they are told to children throughout the English-speaking world. Old English Nursery Rhymes were taken to America with the settlers from England. They were then spread across Commonwealth countries including Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable PDF

Author: Elizabeth Knowles

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2006-10-12

Total Pages: 816

ISBN-13: 0191578568

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This Dictionary is part of the Oxford Reference Collection: using sustainable print-on-demand technology to make the acclaimed backlist of the Oxford Reference programme perennially available in hardback format. What is a ham-and-egger? What are Anglo-Saxon attitudes? Who or what is liable to jump the shark? Who first tried to nail jelly to the wall? The answers to these and many more questions are in this fascinating book. Here in one volume you can track down the stories behind the names and sayings you meet, whether in classic literature or today's news. Drawing on Oxford's unrivalled bank of reference and language online resources, this dictionary covers classical and other mythologies, history, religion, folk customs, superstitions, science and technology, philosophy, and popular culture. Extensive cross referencing makes it easy to trace specific information, while every page points to further paths to explore. A fascinating slice of cultural history, and a browser's delight from start to finish. What is the fog of war? Who first wanted to spend more time with one's family? When was the Dreamtime? How long since the first cry of Women and children first? Where might you find dark matter? Would you want the Midas touch? Should you worry about grey goo?

Pop Goes the Weasel

Pop Goes the Weasel PDF

Author: Albert Jack

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2009-09-29

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 1101162961

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From the international bestselling author of Red Herrings and White Elephants—a curious guide to the hidden histories of classic nursery rhymes. Who was Mary Quite Contrary, or Georgie Porgie? How could Hey Diddle Diddle offer an essential astronomy lesson? Do Jack and Jill actually represent the execution of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette? And if Ring Around the Rosie isn’t about the plague, then what is it really about? This book is a quirky, curious, and sometimes sordid look at the truth behind popular nursery rhymes that uncovers the strange tales that inspired them—from Viking raids to political insurrection to smuggling slaves to freedom. Read Albert Jack's posts on the Penguin Blog.

The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren

The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren PDF

Author: Iona Opie

Publisher: New York Review of Books

Published: 2000-08-31

Total Pages: 468

ISBN-13: 9780940322691

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First published in 1959, Iona and Peter Opie's The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren is a pathbreaking work of scholarship that is also a splendid and enduring work of literature. Going outside the nursery, with its assortment of parent-approved entertainments, to observe and investigate the day-to-day creative intelligence and activities of children, the Opies bring to life the rites and rhymes, jokes and jeers, laws, games, and secret spells of what has been called "the greatest of savage tribes, and the only one which shows no signs of dying out."