As a lover of language, a book about relatively modern idioms and expressions in the English language is a treat to read. It was easy-to-read and fun to engage with.

This was a fun and quirky look into the everyday phrases in words that we use and how they have integrated themselves into our culture and our lives. It's not a dense read and I found it pretty short and fun. If you've got a few free minutes here and there and you want to pick up something that's interesting and fun to read this is definitely worth checking out

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead.

I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings.

Anything requested and approved will be read and a decent quality review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

If you love grammar and literacy this book will keep you entertained. It explains the origins of sayings we use everyday, and some I have never heard of.. The author chooses idioms from the areas of tv, internet sport and movies. I would have appreciated some information on older idioms that my grandma used to say but this concentrates on modern times.

I have always enjoyed exploring the origins of words, popular phrases, idioms, sayings, and more. This book is a cool, or rather modern twist (literally), to looking at newer idioms, their origins, and their journeys. So rather than googling many of these, or trying to play twenty questions with my teens to sneakily get answers without appearing like a dinosaur, I now have a handy reference guide in this book!!

A fun informative read perfect for word-nerds and others too!
Disclaimer: Thanks to Netgalley for the digital review copy of the book. These are my honest opinions of the book.

Jumping Sharks and Dropping Mics by author Garett Carrol is a book that explains pop culture idioms and their origins, focused on idioms in the UK and US. This book would be great for teens and adults born after the genesis of these popular expressions and for those learning the English language. For me, a Gen X-er, I didn’t learn a lot of new information and wasn’t personally interested in the UK-specific idioms.

I am a library associate and received an advance copy from #NetGalley. Opinion are my own.

A fascinating treat for writers, linguists, and lovers of language with a book entirely about idioms with a study of how certain ones stemmed from our "modern" sources of TV and movies (and more), only to become embedded in our language today. This tour provided takes you through some of these phrases and explores why these idioms have become important to our everyday vocab. The primary focus of this book is on the specific idioms that have entered our language in the more recent decades (after the creation of TV catchphrases and movies). As someone who has always appreciated the various tweaks of our language that makes it stand out, it's fun to see deeper exploration on idioms already known and ones that haven't been heard of. The book explores how modern conveniences and extracurriculars have given way to notable phrases and how some shifted in meaning by strange means. An example is how Friends (the show that everyone knows) was given credit with popularizing "the friend zone," "being commando," "being on a break," and a "moo point", along with other major pop culture additions (everyone knows "the Rachel" haircut).

Examples of these famous phrases include "Can I phone a friend," "shrimp on the barbie," "not in Kansas anymore," and popular things like "bucket list" and "groundhog's day." We all know these sayings and most have seen where they've been derived from but it's so commonly used that how many really think about where they've come from. Then there are things that have brought so much popularity that made-up languages have been incorporated such as "Star Wars" terminology being highly influential on our language. Delves into phrases we're all familiar with such as Frankenstein's monster, Jekyll and Hyde, the scarlet letter, and any phrase from Alice in Wonderland. There are common phrases we use that perhaps we don't know actually came from such as brave new world (from The Tempest), dead as a doornail (from Henry VI), and break the ice (from Taming the Shrew). What's with the name? Jump the shark means that a TV show (or other entertainment franchise) has run out of ideas that are logical and have resorted to something ludicrous (or completely off base with the reality of the show) in an attempt to bolster ratings. Nuke the fridge (coming from "Indiana Jones") is another way of saying "jump the shark" though with a more unique twist on it.

This made for an interesting read, lots to learn in this book!

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

This is a great, well-researched collection of modern day idioms and their origins. I chose to read this book as a change of pace from fiction and it served the purpose well. It was fascinating to read the deep dive origin stories of so many phrases that have become standard for us, yet I’d never thought to consider how they came into mainstream use. The author’s passion for the subject is evident throughout. Each topic and idiom has been methodically traced as far back as possible which must have been a pain staking effort as the majority originated before all content went online. I enjoyed that one idiom often linked back to the history of another discussed in an earlier chapter, attention directed when there has been mis-crediting of an idiom’s origin, and the fun and sometimes whimsical reasons certain phrases actually take hold and gain global popularity.

Thank you to NetGalley and John Hunt Publishng Ltd. For allowing me to read this gem in advance!

This was a fun little read good for occasional browsing. The collection of idioms is a little random, and as a US reader I was sometimes completely lost as this seems targeted at a UK audience, especially when the sports section kept talking about cricket. But I did learn the phrase "difficult difficult, lemon difficult" (vs "easy peasy, lemon squeezy") so that's fun!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read an early copy of this book! I'm just a few months late.

British-centric and a whole lot of fun…

Do you ever wonder where the words and phrases you use all the time actually came from? Who said them? How did they become part of the everyday vocabulary? Wonder no more as the author takes you on a whirlwind journey of time and space…

Well, perhaps not space, but he hit many of the more reachable places. Digging into TV and film, sports and pop culture, their birth and history of so many of the catch phrases I know, love and use (and some brand new) were explained. In a conversational style, each idiom was brought to life in bite-size snippets easy to consume and enjoy. And I did just that.

If you love language and digging into the ‘why’, you will enjoy it too.

It was dull and uninteresting. Most of the idioms you would know where they came from unless you were born within the last couple years. Overall it wasn’t really worth the read.

Princess Fuzzypants here: I never watched the Happy Days episode where Fonzie “jumped the shark” but it is an expression that I have heard many times. This is a fun book, probably not one to sit down and read cover to cover at one time but to dip into and out of at will. It looks at some very popular idioms from both sides of the Atlantic and investigates from whence they came.

Some are pretty straightforward. Some are a bit more obscure. But all convey a specific idea even though the words on their own are not describing the situation. But once it becomes part of the language, it’s meaning becomes nigh on universal. So if you happen to be a wordsmith or you just get a “kick” out of learning how things evolved, you will enjoy this book. Four purrs and two paws up.

Jumping sharks and dropping mics is a book that discusses the origins of certain well-known English idioms. For someone with an interest in linguistics, I thought this was well-thought-out and executed. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and I can't wait to read potentially the second volume with some more idioms (if another ever comes out).

I received a copy of the book by NetGalley but the opinions in this review are my own.

Did you ever wonder where the from "Jumping Sharks" comes from? Well, then this is definitely the book for you! This book is FULL of fun facts that you can amaze your family & friends with . I enjoyed reading this book and learning the interesting things that are here!

This book has a good premise and is good for any people out there like myself that like to find out where sayings come from. It was a bit dry at parts where I found myself skimming, whereas other sections were more interesting.

4★
“In some ways, memes are the Internet version of idioms. They emerge, often in response to a particular event or from a particular subculture, and slowly but surely make their way around the world (virtually, at least).”

Memes, expressions, idioms, these are the colourful words and phrases that have infiltrated the English language from slang and various fields of entertainment. The author has divided them into sections, including TV, film, internet, sport, and literature.

Many are obvious and commonplace, like "moving the goalposts" or "not rocket science". Some are unfamiliar (to me, anyway), "omnishambles" or "hairdryer treatment". Some are familiar and quite new, "wardrobe malfunction" and "OK, boomer".

He writes a short description of the background and meaning and where we’re likely to find these phrases. Advertising has been responsible for many: "does what it says on the tin" (slogan for Ronseal, UK manufacturer), and movies for others: "You’re gonna need a bigger boat" (“Jaws”).

I had never heard hairdryer treatment (perhaps I should get out more?), so as an example of his explanations, I’ll share this one.

“The hairdryer treatment:

‘To shout forcibly and directly at someone whilst telling them off.’ Sir Alex Ferguson managed Manchester United from 1986 to 2013, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most successful domestic football managers in the history of the English game. Several phrases have been attributed to him . . . either directly or indirectly. One such example is the ‘hairdryer treatment’, which derives from his habit of showing his displeasure at a poor performance by shouting at players with such ferocity that it was like having a hairdryer blasted into their faces. . .

Myth or not, the idea is now a common way to describe the approach of coaches (in football and other sports) who favour a ‘tough love’ approach.”

That was a new one to me. Others I’m familiar with, like "drink the Kool-Aid" or "Catch-22", are explained for those who don’t know where they came from.

Here’s one that has become more popular recently, but “(Judy Garland nonchalantly tossed away her microphone as she walked off stage after performing on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1965)”. Mind you, she wasn’t making the kind of “so there!” statement that later hip-hop performers, rappers, and comedians began making with a “triumphalist air”.

“DROP THE MIC/MIC DROP: ‘An expression of triumph at the end of a speech or performance; an impressive action that has a show-stopping effect.’ Dropping the mic is an action by a performer to signal that what had been said or done is so impressive that no follow-up or response is required, or would even be worth listening to.”

It’s an easy read, with some curious history of how our language evolves. I’d like to say in defence of the young people who dismiss elders with “OK, Boomer” that these are the same young people we have often dismissed with “OK, Kid”, meaning “that’s about enough out of you, thanks.”

This is one to put on the shelf with your other curious collectibles. Good fun. Thanks to NetGalley and John Hunt Publishing.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S DROPPING SHARKS AND DROPPING MICS ABOUT?
The subtitle pretty much tells you everything you need to know. This is a look at several idioms, expressions, and figures of speech that have entered common usage over since the latter half of the twentieth century.

The introductory chapter describes idioms and their usage, the various types of idioms, the history of a few not-modern examples, and so on. This chapter was great and I could've used a whole book on this topic. But that's something for a future library trip, I guess.

Following that we get chapters devoted to: Idioms from TV (including from commercials); Movies; The Internet (memes, hashtags, and so on); Sports; Modern Literature; and then a handful that have entered common usage without a tie to any of the rest, some from the news. that sort of thing.

Carrol talks about the origin and spread of each idiom, notable uses outside the source, and clarifies the meaning—and other commentary or trivia.

OH, IT'S THAT KIND OF ENGLISH...
Early on there was something in the back of my mind, like I was missing something. Then I ran across the phrase "TV advert," and a lightbulb went on over my head. This book comes from the other side of the Atlantic, which is going to affect a little bit what idioms are used.

I'm not complaining or anything, I just had to tweak my expectations and go in knowing that there were going to be a few things I had no previous exposure to or that I'd be going into without the necessary frame of reference.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT JUMPING SHARKS AND DROPPING MICS?
The Sports chapter did nothing for me—most of that is my utter disinterest in the category, but a decent chunk of that is due to the number of cricket references. They might as well have been in Greek.

On the other end of the spectrum, as one might expect, the chapter devoted to Modern Literature was my favorite. Not just because of the page or two devoted to Douglas Adams, either. The section on The Right Stuff was a lot of fun.

There weren't a lot of idioms that were new to me, but there were a handful—I've tried them out a little bit in the few days since I read the book, I'm not sure they're going to stick, but you never know. It's fun to watch people try to suss out what I meant, at least.

The book was a lot of fun, I appreciated re-familiarizing myself with some of these phrases, and I learned a couple of things, too. It was an entertaining read and just the kind of thing that language nerds should really enjoy.

Jumping Sharks and Dropping Mics – what a great title! Gareth Carrol is a senior lecturer and researcher at the University of Birmingham in England, and has long been fascinated by idioms – what they are, where they came from, what they mean. Thanks to John Hunt Publishing and NetGalley I received a copy of this book in exchange for this honest review.

Professor Carrol has a sense of humor as well as serious knowledge. This will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in language, culture, and entertainment. Note that it is more centered on British language, but still interesting. Four stars.

I enjoyed this book and learning the modern idioms in our language. It is UK-based so there are some idioms I have never heard. Nevertheless, I enjoyed learning new words/sayings.