The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs
by Charles Clay Doyle, Wolfgang Mieder, and Fred R. Shapiro
Yale University Press (18 May 2012)
A great book for those who like language, folksy wisdom, or the way ideas are spread. The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs is a collection of sayings that emerged or became more common during the twentieth century. Not ancient proverbs, but as the title says – modern.
The authors are well suited for the task. Doyle is a professor of English and Linguistics, so he knows his stuff. Mieder enjoys a reputation as one of the world’s foremost scholars of proverbs (I learned what a “paremiologist” was when reading the text). Shapiro is known for his meticulous work in tracing the origins of famous quotes.
They define a proverb as a saying that expresses some general truth, piece of advice, or an observation in a memorable form. However, they deliberately exclude famous quotes tied to a single person (e.g. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream”), advertising slogans, catchphrases, and cliches that are devoid of meaning. Instead, the three focus on sayings that are repeated as conventional wisdom, such as “garbage in, garbage out,” “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” “nice guys finish last,” and countless others.
I expected a simple dictionary structure, where each proverb was simply defined. However, the editors very carefully include things like variant wording, earliest known appearances in print, evidence of how usage spread, commentary about the meaning, and notes on disputed origins. And, they make sure to distinguish earliest examples found and definitive sources on where a proverb originated. A great example would be “garbage in, garbage out,” which was traced to early computing, where poor input generally led to poor output. A general life maxim was born. Very cool.
It’s impressive, because the task of pinpointing the origins of these proverbs would have been an extraordinary task. Look at the countless websites that tell you “This quote was coined by Winston Churchill,” or something. They’re almost never accurate, or the quotes themselves are completely made up. Doyle, Mieder, and Shapiro have compiled evidence from newspapers, books, magazines, speeches, and other printed works, making their research more thorough than the vast collections of internet folklore.
The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs is highly enjoyable, just not from cover to cover. Although, one can open it looking for one proverb, and then sift through a ton of others. A veritable storehouse of pub ammunition of a higher order, and with that in mind, it’s good fun.
Lawrence Deveney 