Word: sisyphean
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Dates: during 1930-1939
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...many collections of English proverbs, Compiler William George Smith's is latest, most definitive. His Sisyphean task took him about 25 years, netted him over 10,000 proverbs. Because ill-health downed him before he could ready his book for the press, able Assistant Janet Heseltine supplied the introduction and index. Compiler Smith lists his proverbs alphabetically, dates the earliest published examples, gives illustrative quotations, but is not always able to explain their origins. Since most familiar proverbs need no translation for native English-speakers, few are given...