The Cats Pyjamas: The Penguin Book of Clichés

From centuries-old sayings, like beggars cant be choosers a friend in need, to todays tried and tested phrases, such as at the end of the day, not fit for purpose and its not rocket science, the English language seems so full of cliches that sometimes its hard to see the wood for the trees. Here eagle-eyed word detective Julia Cresswell takes a long hard look at the history of some of the worst (and best) culprits and spills the beans on their curious, often surprising origins. Who would have thought, for example, that mad for it dates back to 1670, a finger in every pie originates with Shakespeare or that lie back and think of England comes from an Edwardian ladys diary? Whether they relate to sport, business, songs, journalism, food or politics, here is the low-down on those expressions were all a bit guilty of using too much (day in and day out) and that make our language - whether we like it or not - what it is.