In Dictionary of Proverbs and Their Origins, Linda and Roger Flavell trace the origins and histories of over 400 proverbs, detailing the changes of meaning and usage that have occurred throughout each proverb's life and offering literary examples dating back over 2,000 years. Entries have been selected because they have a tale to tell and because they are pithily, even wittily phrased, offering, as Cervantes put it, "short sentences drawn from long experience."