Quotations

General Dictionaries Of Quotations

The following titles are standard dictionaries of quotations in the English language, that is, the entries appeared originally in English or are translations into English from foreign languages. In most cases, only the call number for the latest edition is given. For other copies or earlier editions, please check CATNYP for call numbers and appropriate locations. (Please note that a quotation dictionary, exclusively in French, is included in this list.)

Bartlett, John. Familiar Quotations, 17th ed. (Boston, Mass.; London: Little, Brown, 2002). PubCat PN6081 .B27. A standard, comprehensive collection whose primary arrangement is by author (listed chronologically by birth date); indexes are by keyword and author. Earlier editions of this work (see the catalogs for appropriate call numbers) are useful for quotations omitted in the latest edition.

Benham, William G. Benham’s Book of Quotations, Proverbs, and Household Words (London: Harrap, 1948). PubCat PN6080 .B35. The English-language section of this dictionary of quotations is arranged by author. However, the special sections covering quotations in Latin, Greek, and western European languages are arranged by the first word of the quotation (translations into English provided). A section entitled "Waifs and Strays" (arranged by topics such as "Sundial Inscriptions" and "London Street Sayings") provides a listing for miscellaneous and idiosyncratic quotations. A keyword index is available for English language quotations.

Bloomsbury Dictionary of Quotations (London: Bloomsbury, 1987). *R-RMRR PN6081 .B55. This work is arranged by author; a keyword index is supplied.

Dournon, Jean-Yves. Le grand dictionnaire des citations francaises, rev. ed. (Paris: Archipel, 2002). *R-RMRR PN6086 .D68. Arranged by subject, with author index.

Ehrlich, Eugene H, ed., International Thesaurus of Quotations (New York: Harper Perennial, 1996). *R-RMRR PN6081. T77. Primarily arranged by subject, this work is also indexed by author, source, and keyword.

The Home Book of Quotations, Classical and Modern, 10th ed., selected and arranged by Burton Stevenson (New York: Greenwich House, 1984). PubCat PN6081 .H 635. This comprehensive dictionary of quotations is primarily arranged by subject; author and keyword indexes are provided.

Hoyt, J.K. Hoyt's New Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations Drawn from the Speech and Literature of All Nations (New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1927). PubCat PN6081 .H7. This comprehensive collection, arranged by subject, includes author and keyword indexes.

Mencken, Henry Louis. A New Dictionary of Quotations on Historical Principles from Ancient and Modern Sources (New York: Knopf, 1987, c.1942). *R-RMRR PN6081 .M49. This comprehensive collection, notable for its inclusion of many lesser-known quotations, is arranged only by subject (with cross references to related headings). No indexes.

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase, Saying, and Quotation, edited by Elizabeth Knowles (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1997). *R-RMRR PN6080 .O945. Arranged primarily by themes or subjects, supplemented by keyword index.

The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, 5th ed. (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1999). *R-RMRR PN6080 .O95. Arranged by author, this dictionary supplies a keyword index.

Powell, David. The Wisdom of the Novel: A Dictionary of Quotations (New York: Garland, 1985). JFE 85-2457. Arranged by subject, this dictionary draws its quotations from English and American authors published between 1470 and 1900; author, novel, and keyword indexes are provided.

Stevenson, Burton E. The Home Book of Proverbs, Maxims, and Familiar Phrases (New York: Macmillan, 1956), 2 vols. PubCat PN6405 .S74. This comprehensive work is arranged by subject with cross references to related headings; a keyword index is provided.

Webster’s New World Dictionary of Quotations (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2005). *R-RMRR PN6080 .W43. Arranged by author, with keyword index.

Yale Book of Quotations, edited by Fred R. Shapiro (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006). *R-RMRR PN6081 .Y35. Arranged primarily by author, with keyword index. This work is notable for its special sections, which include advertising slogans, political slogans, folk songs, and radio/television catchphrases.