This perfect gift for readers, writers, and literature majors alike unearths the quirks of the English language. For example, do you know why a mortgage is literally a "death pledge"? Why guns have girls' names? Why "salt" is related to "soldier"? Discover the answers to all of these etymological questions and more in this fascinating book for fans of of Eats, Shoots & Leaves.
The Etymologicon is a completely unauthorized guide to the strange underpinnings of the English language. It explains how you get from "gruntled" to "disgruntled"; why you are absolutely right to believe that your meager salary barely covers "money for salt"; how the biggest chain of coffee shops in the world connects to whaling in Nantucket; and what, precisely, the Rolling Stones have to do with gardening. This witty book will awake the linguist in you and illuminate the hidden meanings behind common words and phrases, tracing their evolution through all of their surprising paths throughout history.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
"The stocking filler of the season...how else to describe a book that explains the connection between Dom Perignon and Mein Kampf."--The Observer
"Crikey...this is addictive!"--The Times
"Mark Forsyth is clearly a man who knows his onions."--Daily Telegraph
Sprache
Verlagsort
Verlagsgruppe
Produkt-Hinweis
Maße
Höhe: 198 mm
Breite: 129 mm
Dicke: 22 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-0-425-26079-1 (9780425260791)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Mark Forsyth is a writer, journalist, proofreader, ghostwriter, and pedant. He was given a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary as a christening present and has never looked back. He is the creator of The Inky Fool, a blog about words, phrases, grammar, rhetoric, and prose.
