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The Etymologicon
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Download or read book The Etymologicon written by Mark Forsyth and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-10-02 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book The Horologicon written by Mark Forsyth and published by Icon Books. This book was released on 2012-11-01 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER THE ETYMOLOGICON. ‘Reading The Horologicon in one sitting is very tempting’ Roland White, Sunday Times. Mark Forsyth presents a delightfully eccentric day in the life of unusual, beautiful and forgotten English words. From uhtceare in the hours before dawn through to dream drumbles at bedtime, The Horologicon gives you the extraordinary lost words you never knew you needed. Wake up feeling rough? Then you’re philogrobolized. Pretending to work? That’s fudgelling (which may lead to rizzling if you feel sleepy after lunch). A Radio 4 Book of the Week, The Horologicon is an eye-opening, page-turning celebration of the English language at its most endearingly arcane.
Book Synopsis The Elements of Eloquence by : Mark Forsyth
Download or read book The Elements of Eloquence written by Mark Forsyth and published by Icon Books. This book was released on 2016-11-03 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER THE ETYMOLOGICON. 'An informative but highly entertaining journey through the figures of rhetoric ... Mark Forsyth wears his considerable knowledge lightly. He also writes beautifully.' David Marsh, Guardian. Mark Forsyth presents the secret of writing unforgettable phrases, uncovering the techniques that have made immortal such lines as 'To be or not to be' and 'Bond. James Bond.' In his inimitably entertaining and witty style, he takes apart famous quotations and shows how you too can write like Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde or John Lennon. Crammed with tricks to make the most humdrum sentiments seem poetic or wise, The Elements of Eloquencereveals how writers through the ages have turned humble words into literary gold - and how you can do the same.
Book Synopsis The Unknown Unknown by : Mark Forsyth
Download or read book The Unknown Unknown written by Mark Forsyth and published by Icon Books Ltd. This book was released on 2014-09-04 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mark Forsyth - author of the Sunday Times Number One bestseller The Etymologicon - reveals in this essay, specially commissioned for Independent Booksellers Week, the most valuable thing about a really good bookshop. Along the way he considers the wisdom of Donald Rumsfeld, naughty French photographs, why Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy would never have met online, and why only a bookshop can give you that precious thing - what you never knew you were looking for.
Book Synopsis A Short History of Drunkenness by : Mark Forsyth
Download or read book A Short History of Drunkenness written by Mark Forsyth and published by Crown. This book was released on 2018-05-08 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the internationally bestselling author of The Etymologicon, a lively and fascinating exploration of how, throughout history, each civilization has found a way to celebrate, or to control, the eternal human drive to get sloshed “An entertaining bar hop though the past 10,000 years.”—The New York Times Book Review Almost every culture on earth has drink, and where there’s drink there’s drunkenness. But in every age and in every place drunkenness is a little bit different. It can be religious, it can be sexual, it can be the duty of kings or the relief of peasants. It can be an offering to the ancestors, or a way of marking the end of a day’s work. It can send you to sleep, or send you into battle. Making stops all over the world, A Short History of Drunkenness traces humankind’s love affair with booze from our primate ancestors through to the twentieth century, answering every possible question along the way: What did people drink? How much? Who did the drinking? Of the many possible reasons, why? On the way, learn about the Neolithic Shamans, who drank to communicate with the spirit world (no pun intended), marvel at how Greeks got giddy and Sumerians got sauced, and find out how bars in the Wild West were never quite like in the movies. This is a history of the world at its inebriated best.
Book Synopsis The Etymologicon and the Horologicon by : Mark Forsyth
Download or read book The Etymologicon and the Horologicon written by Mark Forsyth and published by . This book was released on 2013-11-07 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the actual connection between disgruntled and gruntled? What links church organs to organised crime, California to the Caliphate, or brackets to codpieces?The Etymologicon springs from Mark Forsyth's Inky Fool blog on the strange connections between words. It's an occasionally ribald, frequently witty and unerringly erudite guided tour of the secret labyrinth that lurks beneath the English language, taking in monks and monkeys, film buffs and buffaloes, and explaining precisely what the Rolling Stones have to do with gardening.The Horologicon (or book of hours) gives you the most extraordinary words in the English language, arranged according to the hour of the day when you really need them. Do you wake up feeling rough? Then you’re philogrobolized. Pretending to work? That’s fudgelling, which may lead to rizzling if you feel sleepy after lunch, though by dinner time you will have become a sparkling deipnosophist. From Mark Forsyth, author of the bestselling The Etymologicon, this is a book of weird words for familiar situations. From ante-jentacular to snudge by way of quafftide and wamblecropt, at last you can say, with utter accuracy, exactly what you mean.
Book Synopsis Sweetness and Power by : Sidney W. Mintz
Download or read book Sweetness and Power written by Sidney W. Mintz and published by Penguin. This book was released on 1986-08-05 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating persuasive history of how sugar has shaped the world, from European colonies to our modern diets In this eye-opening study, Sidney Mintz shows how Europeans and Americans transformed sugar from a rare foreign luxury to a commonplace necessity of modern life, and how it changed the history of capitalism and industry. He discusses the production and consumption of sugar, and reveals how closely interwoven are sugar's origins as a "slave" crop grown in Europe's tropical colonies with is use first as an extravagant luxury for the aristocracy, then as a staple of the diet of the new industrial proletariat. Finally, he considers how sugar has altered work patterns, eating habits, and our diet in modern times. "Like sugar, Mintz is persuasive, and his detailed history is a real treat." -San Francisco Chronicle
Book Synopsis In Case You Get Hit by a Bus by : Abby Schneiderman
Download or read book In Case You Get Hit by a Bus written by Abby Schneiderman and published by Workman Publishing Company. This book was released on 2020-12-22 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A step-by-step program for getting your life in order, so you’re prepared for the unexpected. The odds of getting hit by a bus are 495,000 to 1. But the odds that you’re going to die some day? Exactly. Even the most disorganized among us can take control of our on- and off-line details so our loved ones won’t have to scramble later. The experts at Everplans, a leading company in digital life planning, make it possible in this essential and easy-to-follow book. Breaking the task down into three levels, from the most urgent (like granting access to passwords), to the technical (creating a manual for the systems in your home), to the nostalgic (assembling a living memory), this clear, step-by-step program not only removes the anxiety and stress from getting your life in order, it’s actually liberating. And deeply satisfying, knowing that you’re leaving the best parting gift imaginable. When you finish this book, you will have: A system for managing all your passwords and secret codes Organized your money and assets, bills and debts A complete understanding of all the medical directives and legal documents you need––including Wills, Powers of Attorney, and Trusts A plan for meaningful photos, recipes, and family heirlooms Records of your personal history, interests, beliefs, and life lessons An instruction manual for your home and vehicles Your funeral planned and obituary written (if you’re up for it)
Book Synopsis Fox Tossing, Octopus Wrestling and Other Forgotten Sports by : Edward Brooke-Hitching
Download or read book Fox Tossing, Octopus Wrestling and Other Forgotten Sports written by Edward Brooke-Hitching and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2015-06-04 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'An entertaining new book… which looks back at the most bizarre sporting activities ever devised by mankind' Daily Mail 'Perfect book for the Christmas stockings of adults and curious children' Wall Street Journal For those who enjoyed the quirkiness of Schott's Miscellany, the erudition of The Etymologicon or the extremes of The Dangerous Book for Boys, this is the ideal read. From Flagpole Sitting to Hot Cockles, Edward Brooke-Hitching has researched through piles of dusty tomes to bring vividly back to life some of the most curious, dangerous and downright bizarre sports and pastimes ever devised, before we thought better of it and erased them from the memory. After all, who would ever want to bring back Fox Tossing, a popular sport for men and women in 17th-century Germany? The sport involved dozens of couples pairing up and standing 20-25 feet apart in an enclosed field, each holding one end of a net, and then they would pull hard at both ends as the fox ran past, sending it flying high into the air. There are many other sports revealed within these pages that are unlikely ever to make an appearance on our TV screens, such as Firework Boxing, which is just as dangerous as it sounds. Meanwhile, Ski Ballet may not have been so risky, but Suzy 'Chapstick' Chaffee's signature move - the Suzy Split (a complete forward split while balanced on the tips of her skis) - was probably not one to try at home. An intriguing, entertaining and occasionally shocking insight into the vivid imaginations of humanity across the years, Fox Tossing, Octopus Wrestling and Other Forgotten Sports is an unforgettable read and a perfect gift.
Book Synopsis Etymologicon Universale by : Walter Whiter
Download or read book Etymologicon Universale written by Walter Whiter and published by . This book was released on 1822 with total page 686 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis The Origin of Names, Words and Everything in Between by : Patrick Foote
Download or read book The Origin of Names, Words and Everything in Between written by Patrick Foote and published by Mango Media Inc.. This book was released on 2021-10-12 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dive Into the Fun Facts Behind Names and Word Origins #1 Bestseller in Words, Language & Grammar, Etymology The best-selling book is back in it’s second volume with more names, more words, and even more in-between than before! What’s in a name? The answer is far more complex and interesting than you may think. From the person behind the popular Youtube channel, NameExplain, comes the second volume of his best-selling book The Origin of Names, Words and Everything in Between. This new book is a fun, interesting and educational journey through the world of etymology. It covers a huge array of names from a variety of topic areas, and includes a bunch of random facts behind the names. From first names, to bodies of water?there’s no name big or small, important or obscure that won’t be explained. Find fun facts. Presented in a light and entertaining manner, The Origin of Names compels you to learn a ton of things you didn’t know you wanted to know. Unlike a dictionary, everything in this book is easy to understand and can be read from start to finish, or in short bursts. It’s also a lot more fun to read?Patrick explains each name with jokes and quips you’re bound to enjoy, and it’s full of pictures too! Be the know-it-all you always wanted to be. In The Origin of Names you’ll: Learn fascinating word origins and bizarre name meanings Be able to entertain yourself and friends with random facts Gain honor and renown for your unrivaled knowledge of etymology If you enjoyed books like Interesting Stories For Curious People, Stuff You Should Know, or The Great Book of American Idioms, then you’ll love The Origin of Names, Words and Everything in Between: Volume II.
Book Synopsis The Well-Spoken Thesaurus by : Tom Heehler
Download or read book The Well-Spoken Thesaurus written by Tom Heehler and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2011-02-01 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Well-Spoken Thesaurus is designed to help you improve your communication skills by expanding your vocabulary. The book includes over 200 words, arranged in easy-to-use categories, such as "positive emotions," "negative emotions," "intellectual terms," and "descriptive terms." Each entry includes a definition, synonyms, antonyms, and usage examples. The Well-Spoken Thesaurus is particularly useful for writers who want to improve the precision and impact of their language. By providing a range of synonyms for common words and phrases, the book helps writers avoid repetition and clichés, while also encouraging them to use language that is more vivid, specific, and memorable. Some of the benefits of using The Well-Spoken Thesaurus include: Making a stronger impression: By choosing words that are more precise and impactful, you can help your writing stand out from the crowd and make a stronger impression. Demonstrating your communication skills: Using a wide range of vocabulary can demonstrate that you are articulate, sophisticated, and able to communicate effectively. Conveying your personality: Includes a range of descriptive terms that can help you convey your personality and character traits in your writing Overall, The Well-Spoken Thesaurus can be a valuable resource for anyone who wants to improve their writing and communication skills.
Book Synopsis A Christmas Cornucopia by : Mark Forsyth
Download or read book A Christmas Cornucopia written by Mark Forsyth and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2016-11-03 with total page 103 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: BY THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF A SHORT HISTORY OF DRUNKENNESS Discover the unpredictable origins and etymologies of our Christmas customs this festive season. For something that happens every year of our lives, we really don't know much about Christmas. We don't know that the date we celebrate was chosen by a madman, or that Christmas, etymologically speaking, means "Go away, Christ". We're oblivious to the fact that the advent calendar was actually invented by a Munich housewife to stop her children pestering her for a Christmas countdown. And we would never have guessed that the invention of crackers was merely a way of popularising sweet wrappers. Luckily, like a gift from Santa himself, Mark Forsyth is here to unwrap this fundamentally funny gallimaufry of traditions and oddities, making it all finally make sense - in his wonderfully entertaining wordy way. 'Witty and revelatory. Blooming brilliant' Raymond Briggs 'Everything we ever thought about Christmas is wrong! Great stuff' Matthew Parris
Download or read book #NeverAgain written by David Hogg and published by Random House. This book was released on 2018-06-19 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From two survivors of the Parkland, Florida, shooting comes a declaration for our times, and an in-depth look at the making of the #NeverAgain movement. On February 14, 2018, seventeen-year-old David Hogg and his fourteen-year-old sister, Lauren, went to school at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, like any normal Wednesday. That day, of course, the world changed. By the next morning, with seventeen classmates and faculty dead, they had joined the leadership of a movement to save their own lives, and the lives of all other young people in America. It's a leadership position they did not seek, and did not want--but events gave them no choice. The morning after the massacre, David Hogg told CNN: "We're children. You guys are the adults. You need to take some action and play a role. Work together. Get over your politics and get something done." This book is a manifesto for the movement begun that day, one that has already changed America--with voices of a new generation that are speaking truth to power, and are determined to succeed where their elders have failed. With moral force and clarity, a new generation has made it clear that problems previously deemed unsolvable due to powerful lobbies and political cowardice will be theirs to solve. Born just after Columbine and raised amid seemingly endless war and routine active shooter drills, this generation now says, Enough. This book is their statement of purpose, and the story of their lives. It is the essential guide to the #NeverAgain movement.
Book Synopsis Strange to Say: Etymology as Serious Entertainment by : Deborah Warren
Download or read book Strange to Say: Etymology as Serious Entertainment written by Deborah Warren and published by Paul Dry Books. This book was released on 2021-08-30 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “You can’t stop language, because when all’s said and done is never.” In her witty account of the origins of many English words and expressions, Deborah Warren educates as she entertains―and entertain she does, leading her readers through the amazing labyrinthian history of related words. “Language,” she writes, “is all about mutation.” Read here about the first meanings of common words and phrases, including dessert, vodka, lunatic, tulip, dollar, bikini, peeping tom, peter out, and devil’s advocate. A former Latin teacher, Warren is a gifted poet and a writer of great playfulness. Strange to Say is a cornucopia of joyful learning and laughter. Did you know… Lord Cardigan was a British aristocrat and military man known for the sweater jackets he sported. A lying lawyer might pull the wool over a judge’s eyes―yank his wig down across his face. In the original tale of Cinderella, her slippers were made of vair (“fur”)―which in the orally-told story mistakenly turned into the homonym verre (“glass”). Like laundry, lavender evolved from Italian lavanderia, “things to be washed.” The plant was used as a clothes freshener. It smells better than, say, the misspelled Downy Unstopable with the ad that touts its “feisty freshness,” unaware that feisty evolved from Middle English fisten―fart.
Download or read book Word Myths written by David Wilton and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2008-11-06 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you "know" that posh comes from an acronym meaning "port out, starboard home"? That "the whole nine yards" comes from (pick one) the length of a WWII gunner's belt; the amount of fabric needed to make a kilt; a sarcastic football expression? That Chicago is called "The Windy City" because of the bloviating habits of its politicians, and not the breeze off the lake? If so, you need this book. David Wilton debunks the most persistently wrong word histories, and gives, to the best of our actual knowledge, the real stories behind these perennially mis-etymologized words. In addition, he explains why these wrong stories are created, disseminated, and persist, even after being corrected time and time again. What makes us cling to these stories, when the truth behind these words and phrases is available, for the most part, at any library or on the Internet? Arranged by chapters, this book avoids a dry A-Z format. Chapters separate misetymologies by kind, including The Perils of Political Correctness (picnics have nothing to do with lynchings), Posh, Phat Pommies (the problems of bacronyming--the desire to make every word into an acronym), and CANOE (which stands for the Conspiracy to Attribute Nautical Origins to Everything). Word Myths corrects long-held and far-flung examples of wrong etymologies, without taking the fun out of etymology itself. It's the best of both worlds: not only do you learn the many wrong stories behind these words, you also learn why and how they are created--and what the real story is.
Download or read book Numericon written by Marianne Freiberger and published by Quercus. This book was released on 2015-03-10 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Numericon tells the stories of the numbers, mathematical discoveries, oddities and personalities that have shaped the way we understand the world around us. Each chapter is its own story about a number: why 12 is a sublime number, why 13 is unlucky and 7 lucky, and how imaginary numbers hold up buildings. The book tells the stories of ancient mathematicians, ground-breaking discoveries and mathematical applications that affect our world and our lives in so many ways.
