Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, July 18, 1993                   TAG: 9307180211
SECTION: HORIZON                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By MIKE MAYO
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

REFERENCE BOOKS MAY NOT BE ESSENTIAL, BUT . . .

HAVE A NICE DAY - NO PROBLEM! A Dictionary of Cliches by Christine Ammer. Dutton/Plume. $12 (trade paper).

It would be an overstatement to call either of these reference books "indispensable" but each accomplishes its goals well enough.

This second edition of "The New International Dictionary of Quotations" is aimed at a popular audience. The entries are arranged by subject and, judging by a quick scan, the editors placed an emphasis on wit and contrast. For example, under the heading of "Prudence and Practical Wisdom," they cite Cervantes for the original "A wise man does not trust all his eggs to one basket" and then guide the reader to Mark Twain's "Put all your eggs in one basket - and watch that basket." And in "History" we find Carlyle's "The history of the world is but the biography of great men" right below Ambrose's Bierce's definition: "History, an account, mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers, mostly knaves, and soldiers, mostly fools."

Christine Ammer's dictionary of cliches and common sayings isn't really meant for children, but it's written clearly enough for most bright kids, particularly those with an interest in language. To many readers, some of her entries may seem obvious, but they're not obvious to everyone. That's the point. She does a good job of sketching in derivations and changes in expressions; how, for example, "jet set" largely replaced "smart set."

She doesn't pretend to know everything about her subject either, noting questionable explanations for such phrases as "the whole nine yards" where true origins have been lost.