Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds write by Michael Quinion. This book was released on 2006-03-14. Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. 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!
Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins
Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins write by Michael Quinion. This book was released on 2006-03. Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle.
Wordwatching
Wordwatching - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Wordwatching write by Alex Horne. This book was released on 2011-07-07. Wordwatching available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. 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.
Euphemania
Euphemania - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Euphemania write by Ralph Keyes. This book was released on 2010-12-14. Euphemania available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. 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.
I Love It When You Talk Retro
I Love It When You Talk Retro - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook I Love It When You Talk Retro write by Ralph Keyes. This book was released on 2009-03-31. I Love It When You Talk Retro available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. An entertaining and informative book about the fashion and fads of language Today's 18-year-olds may not know who Mrs. Robinson is, where the term "stuck in a groove" comes from, why 1984 was a year unlike any other, how big a bread box is, how to get to Peyton Place, or what the term Watergate refers to. I Love It When You Talk Retro discusses these verbal fossils that remain embedded in our national conversation long after the topic they refer to has galloped off into the sunset. That could be a person (Mrs. Robinson), product (Edsel), past bestseller (Catch-22), radio or TV show (Gangbusters), comic strip (Alphonse and Gaston), or advertisement (Where's the beef?) long forgotten. Such retroterms are words or phrases in current use whose origins lie in our past. Ralph Keyes takes us on an illuminating and engaging tour through the phenomenon that is Retrotalk—a journey, oftentimes along the timelines of American history and the faultlines of culture, that will add to the word-lover's store of trivia and obscure references. "The phrase "drinking the Kool-Aid" is a mystery to young people today, as is "45rpm." Even older folks don't know the origins of "raked over the coals" and "cut to the chase." Keyes (The QuoteVerifier) uses his skill as a sleuth of sources to track what he calls "retrotalk": "a slippery slope of puzzling allusions to past phenomena." He surveys the origins of "verbal fossils" from commercials (Kodak moment), jurisprudence (Twinkie defense), movies (pod people), cartoons (Caspar Milquetoast) and literature (brave new world). Some pop permutations percolated over decades: Radio's Take It or Leave It spawned a catch phrase so popular the program was retitled The $64 Question and later returned as TV's The $64,000 Question. Keyes's own book Is There Life After High School? became both a Broadway musical and a catch phrase. Some entries are self-evident or have speculative origins, but Keyes's nonacademic style and probing research make this both an entertaining read and a valuable reference work." --Publishers Weekly
