Putnam's Handbook of Expressions

I love old books. LOVE them. There is something so charming about a vintage book - the worn pages, the faded cover, the cracked spine, and the smell -- mmmmmm. For my birthday, I got a JEWEL of an old book - copyright 1915, to be exact - called Putnam's Handbook of Expressions: For the Enrichment of Conversation, Writing, and Public Speaking.

It's a gem, I tell you. It is filled with phrases of all sorts to be memorized and used in writing and speaking, with categories like "dissent," "tactful response," "commendatory of persons," "manliness," "suspicion," and "prefatory." I could really spend hours thumbing through this delightful book. It's hilarious, and yes, I am incorporating these phrases into my speech and writing.

I love it so much that I've decided to start sharing some favorite phrases with you on Sundays. The "Putnam Series," if you will. So without further ado, I give you the inaugural installment of Putnam's Expressions:

Phrases for Conversation: Complimentary of Things

1. A sentiment worthy of emulation

2. Altogether a fine thing

3. I call it a delightful spectacle

4. There is an unfailing charm in it

5. How delightfully cozy

6. I like it prodigiously

7. It bears the stamp of excellence

8. A capital idea

9. It is a beautiful piece of industrial accomplishment

10. It is an amiable habit by no means to be discouraged

See how many you can toss out there in conversation this week....:)