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The Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories
Glynnis Chantrell
Paperback - $29.95
Informative and enlightening, this volume describes the origins and sense development of over 11,000 words in the English language. Well-known idioms such as "say it with flowers" are highlighted with the dates of their original use and how and when ...
Loose Cannons, Red Herrings, and Other Lost Metaphors
Robert Claiborne
Paperback - $26.95
The English Language is a treasury of splendid mysteries, among them the many words and phrases whose origins we no longer know. Often the original meaning was literal, pertaining to forgotten objects or activities -- such as "aftermath", which once ...
From Achilles' Heel to Zeus's Shield
Dale Corey Dibbley
Paperback - $32.95
Did you know that to tantalize recalls how Greek mythology's Tantalus was tortured by the food and drink just beyond his grasp? If someone goes berserk, he is emulating the Viking warriors of Norse myth - fabled for reckless bravery that bordered on ...
The Reverend Guppy's Aquarium : From Joseph P. Frisbie to Roy Jacuzzi, How Everyday Items Were Named for Extraordinary People
Philip Dodd
Hardcover - $32.95
What in the Word? : Wordplay, Word Lore, and Answers to Your Peskiest Questions about Language
Charles Harrington Elster
Paperback - $23.95
Drawing upon esoteric sources and his own expertise, Elster uses a Q&A format to cover a variety of topics--word and phrase origins, slang, style, usage, punctuation, and pronunciation. Every chapter features original brainteasers, challenging puzzle ...
Spellbound : The Surprising Origins and Astonishing Secrets of English Spelling
James Essinger
Paperback - $21.95
Welcome to the illogical, idiosyncratic, outrageous linguistic phenomenon known as the English language. In this eye-opening, fabulously entertaining book, Essinger unlocks the mysteries that have confounded linguists and scholars for millennia.
Dictionary of Word Origins
Linda Flavell
Paperback - $24.95
Words are the building blocks of language, but their derivations are often stories in themselves. Have you ever wondered why we wear "perfume," read "magazines," vote for "candidates," and speak in "jargon"? With entries from "accolade" to "zoo," and ...
Horsefeathers : & Other Curious Words
Charles Earle Funk
Paperback - $22.95
If readers have ever wondered why the candy is called butterscotch; why a certain Southern food is called a hushpuppy; or why log supports in a fireplace are known as andirons, or, sometimes, firedogs; then they'll be fascinated by the origins of the ...