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Word Nerd
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Barbara Ann Kipfer |
vi, 570 p. : 22 cm |
OL15059552W |
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Abracadabra to zombie
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Don L. Wulffson |
Provides the stories behind the meanings of such common words and phrases as Adidas, jeep, ketchup, peeping Tom, tuxedo, and Yankees. |
OL15213532W |
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Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue
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John McWhorter |
Why do we say "I am reading a catalog" instead of "I read a catalog"? Why do we say "do" at all? Is the way we speak a reflection of our cultural values? Delving into these provocative topics and mor… |
OL16310891W |
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What's in the names of fruit
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Peter R. Limburg |
Brief, alphabetically arranged anecdotes trace the origins of fifty-four common fruits. |
OL1858491W |
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Who said that first?
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Max Cryer |
Written in Max Cryer's delightfully witty style, Who Said That First? is a wonderful book to dip into or settle a friendly dispute. |
OL19911111W |
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The etymologicon
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Mark Forsyth |
Springing from writer and journalist Mark Forsyth's hugely popular blog The Inky Fool and including word-connection parlour games perfect for any word-lovers get-together, The Etymologicon is a brill… |
OL19959004W |
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The word detective
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J. A. Simpson |
"What do you call the part of a dog's back it can't scratch? Can you drink a glass of balderdash? And if, serendipitously, you find yourself in Serendip, then where exactly are you? The answers to al… |
OL20040487W |
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Flesh becomes word
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David Dawson |
"Though its coinage can be traced back to a sixteenth-century translation of Leviticus, the term "scapegoat" has enjoyed a long and varied history of both scholarly and everyday uses. While William T… |
OL20955694W |
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Keywords
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Raymond Williams |
Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society is a book by the Welsh Marxist academic Raymond Williams published in 1976 by Croom Helm.
Originally intended to be published along with the author's … |
OL260934W |
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Forgotten English
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Jeffrey Kacirk |
Have you ever sent a message via scandaroon, needed a nimgimmer, or fallen victim to bowelhive? Never heard of these terms? That's because they are a thing of the past. These words are alive and well… |
OL2661709W |
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Naming colors
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Ariane Dewey |
Describes how various colors came to have their specific names in English. |
OL3903002W |
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Coined by God
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Stan Malless,Jeff McQuain,Stanley Malless |
"From "appetite" to "liberty," the Bible has been one of the most prolific sources for introducing words and concepts into the English language. Even the names of the biblical books, from "Genesis" t… |
OL5094335W |
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English words from Latin and Greek elements
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Donald M. Ayers |
Presents an overview of the development of the English language and examines the formation of words especially from Greek and Latin roots. Also discusses definitions and usage. |
OL5110731W |