Sometimes a good quote will do, such as "A man in love is incomplete until he has married. Then he's finished" (Zsa Zsa Gabor). Or perhaps "Marriage has many pains, but celibacy has no pleasures" (Samuel Johnson). Other times, a proverb seems just right, such as ""wedlock is a padlock" or "marriages are made in heaven" or "marry in haste, repent at leisure." Now, in The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase, Saying, and Quotation, readers and writers have over 10,000 quotations, proverbs, and phrases, in one convenient volume, the only such reference book available.
The Dictionary covers over 350 themes, providing a wonderfully diverse range of topics, including actors and acting, animals, the arts, bores and boredom, elections, food and drink, kissing, madness, the past, schools, science, taxes, virtue, the weather, and youth. Thus, under Absence, we find quotations such as "The more he looked inside the more Piglet wasn't there" (A.A. Milne), proverbs "absence makes the heart grow fonder," and phrases "gone with the wind." Explanatory notes are given wherever needed, and cross-references point the reader to other relevant themes in the volume. Finally, readers can also consult two different indexes, one organized by author and one by keyword.
Whether you are interested in ambition or conscience, madness or marriage, or business or politics, you will find here the quotation, proverb, or phrase that suits your needs. The Dictionary of Phrase, Saying, and Quotation belongs on the reference shelf of writers, public speakers, occasional toast givers, and everyone else who enjoys that which they've "often thought but never so well expressed."