Dictionary of Authentic American Proverbs offers a comprehensive reference guide for distinctly American proverbs. Compiled by Wolfgang Mieder, a key figure in the field of proverb studies, this compendium features nearly 1, 500 proverbs with American origins, spanning the 17th century to present day, including a scholarly introduction exploring the history of proverbs in America, the structure and variants of these proverbs, known authors and sources, and cultural values expressed in these proverbs. Along with a comprehensive bibliography of proverb collections and interpretive scholarship, this dictionary offers a glimpse into the history of American social and cultural attitudes through uniquely American language.
Table of Content
Preface
Introduction
Collection
A. A – Authority (Nos. 1-57)
B. Babies – Buy (Nos. 58-167)
C. Cake – Customer (Nos. 168-264)
D. Danger – Dynamite (Nos. 265-362)
E. Eagle – Eyeballs (Nos. 363-400)
F. Facts – Future (Nos. 401-489)
G. Gain – Guys (Nos. 490-582)
H. Habit – Hurry (Nos. 583-668)
I. I – Ivy (Nos. 669-685)
J. Job – Jungle (Nos. 686-693)
K. Keep – Knowledge (Nos. 694-714)
L. Label – Luck (Nos. 715-816)
M. Main Street – Music (Nos. 817-928)
N. Nature – Nut (Nos. 929-964)
O. Occasions – Owls (Nos. 965-982)
P. Package – Put Up (Nos. 983-1071)
Q. Quarterbacks – Quit (Nos. 1072-1080)
R. Rain – Run (Nos. 1081-1126)
S. Safe – Sympathy (Nos.1127-1280)
T. Table – Two (Nos. 1281-1390)
U. Umbrella – Use (Nos. 1391-1396)
V. Vice – Virtue (Nos. 1397-1405)
W. Wagon – Wrongs (Nos. 1406-1493)
Y. Year – Youth (Nos. 1494-1497)
Z. Zealot – Zone (Nos. 1498-1500)
Bibliography
Studies
Collections
About the author
Wolfgang Mieder is the University Distinguished Professor of German and Folklore at the University of Vermont since 1971. He is the founding editor of Proverbium: Yearbook of International Proverb Scholarship (1984-), and his publications include Behold the Proverbs of a People: Proverbial Wisdom in Culture, Literature, and Politics (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2014) and “Right Makes Might”: Proverbs and the American Worldview (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2019).