Sometimes all it takes is a bit of luck...

I got my hands on a copy of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable!! For nothing. I love bookmooch.com.
It's pretty much the ultimate reference book, listing everything from mythical characters to turns of phrase, historical moments and odd things such as the correct terms for groupings of animals, eg: a murder of crows. I've been after a copy for ages, but they're not cheap, so thank goodness someone out there was willing to post me a copy.
I'm well aware that this is an incredibly book-geeky thing to have been searching for, but I'm not a bookworm for nothing. I'm off to search for more goodies with my fingers crossed!! Happy reading.