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A Dictionary of Superstitions - Iona Opie, Moira Tatem

Description: ISBN 0192806645 / Author: Iona Opie / Genre: Encyclopedias / Reference

Newest Review: ... and unlucky; that to buy a cat is unlucky; to shut one away by mistake will raise a storm; if it sleeps with its ears next to ... more

... the ground it will rain...and many, many more. Each entry is presented in chronological order, giving sources and quotes of where the editors first found the superstition mentioned, with some dating back to biblical times. Sometimes contradictory beliefs are expressed; evidence is presented, for example, that getting out of bed backwards, by mistake, is considered both lucky and unlucky by different communities. As well as straightforward superstitions, some folk spells are also detailed: for instance a girl w...more

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A Dictionary of Superstitions - Iona Opie, Moira Tatem: You'll like this (touch wood) (402 words)
by - written on 01/10/00 (Very useful, 76 readings)
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A Dictionary of Superstitions by Iona Opie and Moira Tatem I thought I came from a superstitious family - until I got this book and saw the hundreds and hundreds of superstitions that someone, somewhere in this country, lives by! This is a very comprehensive large-format paperback of 500 or so pages detailing the quite amazing array of folk beliefs, omens, and portents alive today Presented in dictionary format, you can look up, for example, 'cat' and discover the wide range of beliefs surrounding this one creature - that blacks cats are both lucky and unlucky; that to buy a cat is unlucky; to shut one away by mistake will raise a ... Read the complete review