Review – National Trust – “Mothballs and Elbow Grease”

Publ: 2003 (Hardback 2004)
My own book
ISBN: ? Does not appear to have one
Genre: Non-fiction; language; etymology;
Pages: 142
Rating: ***** *


This is sub-titled ‘origins and meanings of household sayings’. No author or editor is listed. I cannot recall where my copy came from. Probably a charity shop. It contains sayings, proverbs and catchphrases related to the house and the contents of its various rooms. A strange mixture of the well-known and obscure which combine to give an insight into domestic life through the ages.

Being a lover of the origins of sayings I particularly enjoyed those which related to common sayings and though I had heard some of them before, others were new to me.

The cover wouldn’t attract me to the book but was appropriate enough.

Would I recommend it?
Yes, to folk interested in etymology. (But with the warning that some of the supposed origins are very much hearsay.)