Sabre Prattling

A gem of a read that should grace every bookshelf.

‘Walked into a minefield’, ‘Gave him both barrels’ and ‘All guns blazing’ are idioms we are familiar with and which we might easily deduce as having a military origin. Not so much perhaps with ‘go off at half cock’ or ‘freeze the balls off a brass monkey.’ The truth is the modern English language is littered with expressions originating from the battlefield, so much so they have become an accepted and natural part of everyday conversation.

Sabre Prattling is as informative as it is entertaining. A real gem of a book. You’ll find yourself learning things you will be dying to tell your friends but, when you do, be careful not to ‘shoot yourself in the foot’ or ‘go over the top’  lest it be ‘open season’ or you end up ‘facing the music’.

If language interests you, be you reader or writer, of if you simply enjoy reading interesting anecdotes, short lessons of history or unusual facts, this is a book for you. Read it, keep it on the bookshelf, delve into it and enjoy it. A great addition to any bookshelf.

* Matt Johnson, editorial expert at LoveReading.co.uk *

The English Language is full of reference, metaphors and idioms relating to weaponry, the battlefield and warfare but for the most-part these words and phrases are so commonly used, the origins of the terminology are long forgotten.

In Sabre Prattling author Andrew Rigsby, a former Royal Marine, has researched and put together a collection of words, phrases and expressions that we use every day, linking their modern meanings and connotations to their ‘battlefield’ origins, some of which date back as far as the 14th century. Andrew provides a wonderful little history lesson with each word and phrase including ‘Armed to the Teeth’, ‘Shoot the Messenger’ and ‘Caught in the Crossfire’, that makes this book so enjoyable.

Whether you are a lover of military history, weaponry or of language, this book is both entertaining, informative, and an excellent reference guide to where words such as ‘Battle-axe’, ‘Ballistic’ and ‘Minefield’ came from before they made their way into modern language and into our daily conversations.

* Waterstones customer (Maria Osbor