For hundreds of years, the public house in its many guises, from urban gin palace to wayside coaching inn, has been a charming and quintessential feature of British life, and hence the names and signs associated with pubs are a constant reminder of our history, cultural heritage, folklore and local identity.The Wordsworth Dictionary of Pub Names is a fascinating compilation containing nearly five thousand absorbing entries and can be dipped into for fun or consulted on a serious level for intriguing and amusing information not readily available elsewhere. The local pub is an institution unique to the British Isles, but since English literature abounds with references to hostelries past and present, real and imagined, and no tourist's itinerary is complete without a visit to one or several on their route, its virtues are celebrated worldwide and readers everywhere will enjoy an affectionate and, perhaps, nostalgic browse through the pages of this entertaining dictionary.