The Oxford Dictionary of Catchphrases

Everyone is familliar with the catchphrases they grew up with, from "Loose Lips Sink Ships" to "Turn on, Tune In, Drop Out" to "Where's the Beef?" to "Gotta Catch 'em All!" But where did all those catchphrases come from and what do they mean? This book collects a number of Catchphrases that became well-known to the public over the last 60 years, and explains where they came from, who was the performer, business, or company that made them popular and what the phrase meant.

For example, "Where's the Beef?" started out in a Burger Commercial. In it, Wendy's poked fun at burger chains that advertised big burgers, but whose offerings didn't live up to their claims. Two (or three) old ladies exclaim over the very large bun on the counter. But when they look under the bun, the "hamburger" is the size of a sausage patty which makes one of the old women (played by actress Clara Peller) exclaim, "Where's the Beef?!" She continues to ask that question as Wendy's touts its own burgers, from 1/4 to 3/4 pounds. It was such a popular ad that Clara Peller was featured in other ads as well, always with the same catchphrase.

This book isn't very large, about 200 pages, and true to it's name as the "Oxford Dictionary", many of its examples are British and will not be familliar to American readers, especially those used by British Comedians from the 50's and 60's, most of whom are unheard of here in America. Others, such as lines from "Doctor Who" and "Are You Being Served?" or "Fawlty Towers" will be more familliar to those who grew up in the 70's, as all those series were popular on American television at some point.

This is a kind of interesting book, but definitely out of date and in need of some severe updating. It didn't strike me as even nearly complete, even for the time it covered. I could think of quite a few Catchphrases that weren't covered by the book or which just seemed to be ignored. But reading it will bring quite a few reminiscing smiles to your face as you remember an old catchphrase from your youth, or a grimace at one which annoyed you. I mean, really, no "Clap on! Clap Off!" for the Clapper? or "Cuckoo for Cocoa-Puffs!" But "Have it your way!" is in there, along with "Where's the Beef?!"

I'll recommend this book, but only slightly. Too much is missing to really make it live up to the name of "Dictionary". Otherwise, it's not bad. Someone needs to do one for American Catchphrases, and make it bigger and more inclusive.