Edward Denison Ross: This English Language

"The contents of this book represent only what I consider to be the linguistic stock-in-trade of the average Englishman, and it would be surprising if any other Englishman were to approve it entirely, either in regard to the inclusions or the omissions. I am, however, convinced that the book errs rather on the side of omission.
I have been astonished to find how very rich the English language is in stock phrases; this is perhaps especially due to the large number of quotations we have absorbed from the Bible. I should indeed be surprised to learn that English is not the richest of all languages in this respect.
In making my selections I have always borne in mind that the primary function of this Guide is to supplement existing text-books. A man may write a good grammar and compile a good dictionary of a language that is not his own, but such a collection as this could only be made by one who had from his earliest childhood been brought up in the country concerned. For example, no Englishman could describe the whole literary and historical repertory possessed by the average American, although they both speak the same language.
The present book deals neither with grammar nor with vocabulary, but only with those expressions, quotations and allusions, a familiarity with which an Englishman takes for granted in his fellow countrymen."