Red herrings and white elephants

Bold as brass, cold feet, cock and bull, off the cuff, red herrings and whitelephants. We use these phrases every day and yet have only the vaguest ideaf where many of them come from. The origins of hundreds of common phrasesre explained in this irreverent journey through the most fascinating andichest regions of the English language. Once you've read one, you'll beiving back in to look up all the others. Red Herrings is full of amazingefinitions that take us all over the world, including military traditionsnd famous people who lent their names to describe familiar situations. Fromhe drop of a hat to the bitter end - you'll never speak English in the sameay again.