- What is an earthquake gown?
- Who wore eelskin masher trousers?
- What did the word dudes" mean in the 16th century?

...

Whether any advantage or benefit will be drawn from the suspension
- or effective abolition
- of the rank of Field Marshal is

...

A comprehensive & authoritative dictionary with over 5 100 entries. Over 200 new entries have been added to this edition & it has been fully updated to reflect recent developments in the industry such as structured finance & the subprime lending crisis. Defines terms from all aspects of personal & international finance including money markets private investments & borrowing foreign exchanges & public & government finance. Now with expanded coverage of central banking monetary policy & financial institutions. Feature entries have been included in this edition for the fuller explanation of topical & complex areas e.g. Financial Times Share Indexes & Bankruptcy Law. Recommended up-to-date web links for many entries accessed via the Dictionary of Finance & Banking website provide valuable extra information. With clear & accessible definitions this jargon-free dictionary is a companion volume to the other financial titles in this best-selling series A Dictionary of Business & Management A Dictionary of Accounting & A Dictionary of Economics & provides accurate & valuable information for students practitioners private investors & readers of the financial pages alike. ...

The Dictionary of Food is the indispensable companion for everyone who loves reading about food or cooking it. We live in a globalised world & our tastes in food have widened dramatically in recent years. The Dictionary of Food reflects this huge cultural shift. With concise descriptions of dishes ingredients equipment & techniques it brings the worlds cuisines familiar & less familiar within our grasp... .so interesting that it only stayed on my desk very briefly before it was taken away...invaluable in anyones kitchen & particularly useful for professional chefs.
- Caroline Waldegrave Leiths School of Food & Wine
...

Forensic scientists apply scientific analysis in a legal context & play a vital role in solving crimes. Sometimes the collection of forensic evidence is the only way to establish or exclude an association between suspect & victim or crime scene or to establish a likely order of events. Profiting from recent scientific developments & the advancement of technological equipment forensic science is a rapidly evolving discipline that encompasses many sciences & the law. This dictionary covers in over 1300 entries the key concepts within forensic science including a wide array of relevant specialist terms from areas such as chemistry biology anthropology art engineering firearms toolmarks trace evidence crime scene investigation case history biographies of investigators & criminals as well as forensic computing. Ranging from crime scene to fibers & fluorescence to RAM this new dictionary is the most up-to-date of its kind & is international in scope. Entry-level web links to online resources are listed & regularly updated on a companion website expanding the scope of the dictionary & pointing to more in-depth supplementary material. Many entries are complemented by case examples (Dr Crippen Mary Ann Cotton etc.) figures & photographs which makes this A to Z an ideal reference for students of forensic science as well as professionals & those with an interest in forensics. ...

This leading dictionary
- now in its fourth edition
- offers wide-ranging & authoritative coverage of the earth sciences & related

...

With clear critical & constructive surveys of key terms by leading researchers in the field The Dictionary of Human Geography fifth edition remains the definitive guide to the concepts & debates in human geography. Comprehensively revised new edition of a highly successful text with over 300 key terms appearing for the first time Situates Human Geography within the humanities social sciences & sciences as a whole Written by leading experts in the field Major entries not only describe the development of concepts contributions & debates in Human Geography but also advance them Features a new consolidated bibliography along with a detailed index & systematic cross-referencing of headwords ...

What is an idiom? Among other things it is an expression whose words do not mean what they say. Someone spilling the beans all over the table may make a mess but spilling the beans all over town would mean something else entirely. Idioms are also inflexible
- you cant hit about the bush or beat about the shrub or say that the bush was beaten about. The English language contains a vast store of idioms that can be used in creative & forceful ways. This totally revised & greatly expanded edition examines over 500 such phrases tracing each ones source & history through a rich supply of examples. New entries include playing fast & loose (from a 16th-century fairground game) head over heels (a totally illogical variation on the more sensible heels over head) & knee-high to a grasshopper (which won out over knee-high to a mosquito & knee-high to a toad). Mini-essays scattered through the book enable the authors to expand on such broader themes as: What is an idiom? National Rivalries & The Old Curiosity Shop of Linguistics. While maintaining scholarly accuracy Linda & Roger Flavell convey their great love of the curious in language in a way that will be irresistible to anyone who delights in words.
...

This best-selling dictionary is an authoritative & comprehensive source of jargon-free legal information. It contains over 4 200 entries that clearly define the major terms concepts processes & the organization of the English legal system. Entries have been fully updated for this new edition to reflect the very latest legislation including the substantial new Companies Act that affects company law & the Constitutional Reform Act that affects the positions of the Lord Chancellor Lord Chief Justice & the Law Lords. This edition also

Includes:: expanded coverage of criminology & law enforcement. Highlighted feature entries discuss key topics in detail for example adoption law the appeals system statement of terms of employment & terrorism acts & there is a useful Writing & Citation Guide that specifically addresses problems & established conventions for writing legal essays & reports. Now providing more information than ever before this edition features recommended web links for many entries which are accessed & kept up to date via the Dictionary of Law companion website. Described by leading university lecturers as the best law dictionary & excellent for non-law students as well as law undergraduates this classic dictionary is an invaluable source of legal reference for professionals students & anyone else needing succinct clarification of legal terms. Focusing primarily on English law it also provides a one-stop source of information for any of the many countries that base their legal system on English law.

...

With over 8 000 terms & expressions this best-selling dictionary provides clear concise & fully up-to-date information on all aspects of civil criminal & commercial law. Fully updated for the new edition expanded topics include juvenile crime immigration anti-terrorism measures e-crime family law police procedure & forensics. Examples & encyclopedic comments help to explain complex terms from British European & US legal procedure. A recommended text for a number of law courses this book is ideal for students & all professionals who need to understand legal terminology especially non-native speakers of English. 'A useful volume for non-lawyers'
- Citizens' Advice Bureaux
...