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Six Words You Never Knew Had Something to Do with Pigs: And Other Fascinating Facts About the English Language - Softcover

 
9780143038122: Six Words You Never Knew Had Something to Do with Pigs: And Other Fascinating Facts About the English Language
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A lively and enlightening look at the peculiarities of the English language looks at the colorful histories behind five hundred common words and phrases in the English language, all organized according to season, focusing on such terms as tragedy, glamour, grammar, and passion fruit. Original.

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About the Author:
The editor in chief of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary and one of the worldÂ's leading authorities on the English language, Katherine Barber is a recipient of the 1999 Canadian Booksellers AssociationÂ's Libris Award.
From Publishers Weekly:
Editor-in-chief of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary and celebrated word nerd Barber has put together a suitably snappy compendium of word origins. Organized by seasons, this snore-free guide to etymology presents more than 500 paragraph-long histories on everything from sports terms to teen-speak to Yiddish. Curious minds will learn that the modern definition of "bidet" comes from the 1300s French verb "bider," meaning "to trot"; the bathroom fixture in the 1750s took the name because of the straddling action one performs while using it. The word "dunce" was derived from the name of a once-revered medieval theologian, John Duns Scotus, who fell out of favor; his disciples were called "Duns men" or "Dunses" for short. And who knew that the first recorded usage of the phrase "as if" was in Frank Morris's 1903 novel The Pit (" 'Maybe he'll come up and speak to us.' 'Oh, as if,' contradicted Laura. ")? No matter what word she puts under the microscope, Barber clearly takes its history seriously, but her light, witty descriptions make each discovery a pleasure. Ideal for dinner party discussions or bathroom reading.
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  • PublisherPenguin Books
  • Publication date2007
  • ISBN 10 0143038125
  • ISBN 13 9780143038122
  • BindingPaperback
  • Edition number1
  • Number of pages220
  • Rating

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9780195424409: Six Words You Never Knew Had Something to Do with Pigs: And Other Fascinating Facts about the Language from Canada's Word Lady

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ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780195424409
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  • 9780195427080: Six Words You Never Knew Had Something to Do with Pigs And Other Fascinating Facts about the Language from Canada's Word Lady

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