In this collection of essays prominent folklorists look at varied modern uses and contexts of proverbs and proverbial speech, some traditional and conventional, others new and unexpected. After the editors’ introduction discussing the history and status of attempts to define proverbs, describing their contemporary circulation, and acknowledging the especially important work of paremiologist Wolfgang Meider, the following contributions examine the continuing pervasiveness and idiomatic relevance of proverbs in modern culture:

Shirley L. Arora

''Baseball as (Pan)America: A Sampling of Baseball-Related Metaphors in Spanish''

Jan Brunvand

'''The Early Bird is Worth Two in the Bush': Captain Jack Aubrey’s Fractured Proverbs''

Charles Clay Doyle

''In Aqua Scribere: The Evolution of a Current Proverb'' Alan Dundes

''As the Crow Flies: A Straight-Forward Study of Lineal Worldview in American Folk Speech''

Isaac Jack Lévy and Rosemary Lévy Zumwalt

'''From One Act of Charity, the World is Saved': Creative Selection of Proverbs in Sephardic Narrative''

Jay Mechling

'''Cheaters Never Prosper' and Other Lies Adults Tell Kids: Proverbs and the Culture Wars over Character''

Anand Prahlad

''The Proverb and Fetishism in American Advertisements''

Stephen D. Winick

''You Can’t Kill Shit: Occupational Proverbs and Metaphorical System among Young Medical Professionals''