An interesting and often amusing collection of over 850 sayings and proverbs from the Southern Appalachian Mountains of the United States. Explanations include references to a bygone lifestyle and to the history of sayings that settlers brought with them from the British Isles. If you've ever wondered where phrases like these came from, this is the book for you: "It's raining cats and dogs," "As poor as a church mouse," "Letting the cat out of the bag," "Spilling the beans," "Saved by the bell," "Kicked the bucket," "Pulling the wool over someone's eyes," "A pig in a poke," "Knock on wood," "Between a rock and a hard place," "Not enough room to swing a cat," "Beyond the pale," "Son of a gun," "Getting someone's goat," "The whole ball of wax," "Saving face," "Get it by hook or crook," "Reading the riot act," and many, many more.