Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds PDF Download
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Author: Michael Quinion
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0060851538
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 290
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Book Description
The cat's pajamas, the bee's knees, and the whole nine yards rolled into one, this true feast for word lovers skewers commonly accepted word-origin myths and etymological folktales. Writing with flair and authority, word maven and Oxford English Dictionary contributor Michael Quinion shows us that the real story behind a word or phrase is often much stranger than the commonly accepted one. With this book in your arsenal, you'll have the last word in every word-lover's game of one-upmanship. So if you've ever wondered why we utter such oddities as "raining cats and dogs," "I couldn't care less," or "twenty-three skidoo," this one's for you. No ballyhoo!
Author: Michael Quinion
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0060851538
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 290
Get Book
Book Description
The cat's pajamas, the bee's knees, and the whole nine yards rolled into one, this true feast for word lovers skewers commonly accepted word-origin myths and etymological folktales. Writing with flair and authority, word maven and Oxford English Dictionary contributor Michael Quinion shows us that the real story behind a word or phrase is often much stranger than the commonly accepted one. With this book in your arsenal, you'll have the last word in every word-lover's game of one-upmanship. So if you've ever wondered why we utter such oddities as "raining cats and dogs," "I couldn't care less," or "twenty-three skidoo," this one's for you. No ballyhoo!
Author: Michael Quinion
Publisher: Turtleback Books
ISBN: 9781417789917
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Author: Ralph Keyes
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 0312340052
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 321
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Book Description
Discusses those "verbal fossils" that remain embedded in our national conversation long after the topic they refer to has galloped off into the sunset. Mrs. Robinson, Edsel, "Catch-22", Gangbusters, "Alphonse and Gaston", or "Where's the beef?" are just a few of the "retroterms" that can be found in this word-lover's store of trivia and obscure references.
Author: Ralph Keyes
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190466782
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 320
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Book Description
Successful word-coinages--those that stay in currency for a good long time--tend to conceal their beginnings. We take them at face value and rarely when and where they were first minted. Engaging, illuminating, and authoritative, Ralph Keyes's The Hidden History of Coined Words explores the etymological underworld of terms and expressions and uncovers plenty of hidden gems. He also finds some fascinating patterns, such as that successful neologisms are as likely to be created by chance as by design. A remarkable number of new words were coined whimsically, originally intended to troll or taunt. Knickers, for example, resulted from a hoax; big bang from an insult. Casual wisecracking produced software, crowdsource, and blog. More than a few resulted from happy accidents, such as typos, mistranslations, and mishearing (bigly and buttonhole), or from being taken entirely out of context (robotics). Neologizers (a Thomas Jefferson coinage) include not just scholars and writers but cartoonists, columnists, children's book authors. Wimp originated with a book series, as did goop, and nerd from a book by Dr. Seuss. Coinages are often contested, controversy swirling around such terms as gonzo, mojo, and booty call. Keyes considers all contenders, while also leading us through the fray between new word partisans, and those who resist them strenuously. He concludes with advice about how to make your own successful coinage. The Hidden History of Coined Words will appeal not just to word mavens but history buffs, trivia contesters, and anyone who loves the immersive power of language.
Author: Paul R. Burden
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
ISBN: 9780810876958
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 779
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Book Description
The Web is always moving, always changing. As some Web sites come, others go, but the most effective sites have been well established. A Subject Guide to Quality Web Sites provides a list of key web sites in various disciplines that will assist researchers with a solid starting point for their queries. The sites included in this collection are stable and have librarian tested high-quality information: the most important attribute information can have.
Author: Bill Brohaugh
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN: 140221927X
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 256
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Book Description
I don't know how else to tell you this...everything you know about English is wrong. "If you love language and the unvarnished truth, you'll love Everything You Know About English Is Wrong. You'll have fun because his lively, comedic, skeptical voice will speak to you from the pages of his word-bethumped book." -Richard Lederer, author of Anguished English, Get Thee to a Punnery, and Word Wizard Now that you know, it's time to, well, bite the mother tongue. William Brohaugh, former editor of Writer's Digest, will be your tour guide on this delightful journey through the English language, pointing out all the misconceptions about our wonderful-and wonderfully confusing-native tongue. Tackling words, letters, grammar and rules, no sacred cow remains untipped as Brohaugh reveals such fascinating and irreverent shockers as: - If you figuratively climb the walls, you are agitated/frustrated/crazy. If you literally climb the walls, you are Spiderman. - "Biting the Mother Tongue": English does not come from England. - The word "queue" is the poster child of an English spelling rule so dominant we'll call it a dominatrix rule: "U must follow Q! Slave!" - So much of our vocabulary comes from the classical languages-clearly, Greece, and not Grease, is the word, is the word, is the word. -Emoticons: Unpleasant punctuational predictions "Better plotted than a glossary, more riveting than a thesaurus, more filmable than a Harry Potter index-and that's just Brohaugh's footsnorts... Imean, feetsnotes...umfeetsneets?...good gravy I'mglad I'mjust a cartoonist." -John Caldwell, one of Mad magazine's Usual Gang of Idiots This book guarantees you'll never look at the English language the same way again-if you write, read or speak it, it just ain't possible to live without this tell-all guide. ("Ain't," incidentally, is not a bad word.)
Author: Paul McFedries
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101217189
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 260
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Book Description
Get ready to chew the fat. This engaging, humorous new book explains the not-so-common origins of such commonly used phrases as “apple-pie order,” “chew the fat,” and “hat trick.” Presented in a fun, easy-to-read style, it provides entertaining insight on metaphorical phrases, weird words, and strange expressions and takes readers on a journey through the bizarre and eccentric origins that make up our everyday speech. • Word books have gained in popularity not just with students and linguaphiles, but with a general population interested in the fascinating development of our language. • Contains back stories for 500 intriguing words and phrases. • Fun to flip through and also fun to read cover to cover.
Author: Bathroom Readers' Institute
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1684129885
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 512
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Book Description
It’s all about the facts—and Uncle John is back with a ton of them! For the 32nd year, Uncle John and his loyal researchers have teamed up to bring you the latest tidbits from the world of pop culture, history, sports, and strange news stories. If you want to read about celebrity misdeeds, odd coincidences, and disastrous blunders, Uncle John’s Truth, Trivia, and the Pursuit of Factiness has what you need. With short articles for a quick trip to the throne room and longer page-turners for an extended visit, this all-new edition of Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader is a satisfying read.
Author: Alex Horne
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0753547880
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 338
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Book Description
Alex Horne loves words. He loves them so much, in fact, that he's gone on a mental safari and invented some of his own ... all he needs to do now is get them into the dictionary. But, as Alex discovers, gaining entry into the official lexicon takes more than just a gentle word in the ear of the editor. Evidence is required - Alex needs what the dictionary authorities call a 'corpus' of examples, hard data showing that his new words are in widespread and long-term usage by people other than just him and his mum. So a corpus he resolves to create, no matter what obstacles he might meet on the way. This is the ridiculous story of one man's struggle to break into the dictionary. From covert word-dropping on Countdown to wilfully misinforming young schoolchildren, Alex tries it all in his quest for word-based stardom. Does he succeed? Exactly what is a 'mental safari'? And are you already using one of Alex's words without realising it? You won't regret spending your hard-earned honk on this hugely entertaining book.
Author: Ralph Keyes
Publisher: Little, Brown Spark
ISBN: 0316121959
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 172
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Book Description
How did die become kick the bucket, underwear become unmentionables, and having an affair become hiking the Appalachian trail? Originally used to avoid blasphemy, honor taboos, and make nice, euphemisms have become embedded in the fabric of our language. Euphemania traces the origins of euphemisms from a tool of the church to a form of gentility to today's instrument of commercial, political, and postmodern doublespeak. As much social commentary as a book for word lovers, Euphemania is a lively and thought-provoking look at the power of words and our power over them.
