Who is Michalou and why do we owe her? Are there green horses, and if not, how is the related expression explained? Why do we give shoes in hand? Where did the expression 'life passes as a gift' come from? Who lost the eggs and the baskets? Why did those coming from the City put cinnamon on top?

To which ancient source do expressions like 'for a plate of lentils', 'the voice of one crying in the wilderness', 'you will come or you will not', 'from a young age' trace back? The answer to these and many other questions can be found in this book, 'Words of the Air' by Nikos Sarantakos.

However, not to all questions; there are also topics on which research has not yet found the answer, and the author has the integrity to acknowledge this and simply present the most probable versions (sometimes even his own).

Fixed expressions are an attractive piece of the Greek language and every other language; they add color and richness to the language, allow for the expression of subtle nuances, while often even the history of their origin is captivatingly interesting.

Nikos Sarantakos presents a thousand and one such expressions: he provides their definitions, traces their origins, finds correspondences in other languages or in ancient and older Greek.

Finally, having compiled hundreds of works of modern Greek literature, he presents one or more literary excerpts for each expression, giving the reader the opportunity to savor live and often exquisite samples of language, from Makrygiannis and Papadiamantis to Karagatsis, Tahtsis, and the newest authors.

The result is a book that combines the validity of the information with an enjoyable style, a dictionary that aspires to be read like a narrative.