Thereby Hangs A Tale: Stories of Curious Word Origins – A Humorous and Insightful Guide to Etymology - Couverture souple

Funk, Charles E.

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0060513381 ISBN 13 : 9780060513382

Editeur : William Morrow Paperbacks, 2002

Synopsis

From “mad as a wet hen” to “corn dodger” and “hobgoblin,” Charles Funk’s collections of curious words and expressions are a treasure trove of word origin.

In a language where hearse and rehearse have the same root and the word dunce comes from a great philosopher, English has hundreds of everyday words that originated or acquired their meanings in unusual ways. Dictionaries don’t have the space to tell us all the mysteries but now Dr. Funk, with humor and insight, tells us the strange and intriguing stories of hundreds of words and how they came to be a part of our language.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Charles Earle Funk was editor in chief of the Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary Series. He wrote several other books on word and phrase origins, including Horsefeathers, Heavens to Betsy!, and Thereby Hangs a Tale.

À propos de la quatrième de couverture

The Greek root of school means leisure.

A language where hearse and rehearse have the same root and the word dunce comes from a great philosopher, English has hundreds of every day words that originated or acquired their meaning in unusual ways. Dictionaries don't have the space to tell us all the mysteries, but now Dr. Funk, with humor and insight, tells us the strange and intriguing stories of hundreds of words and how they came to be a part of our language.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: William Morrow Paperbacks
• Date d'édition: 2002
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0060513381
• ISBN 13: 9780060513382
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 316
• Coordonnées du fabricant: Product Safety Manager; enquiries@harpercollins.ie; ; HarperCollins, Macken House, 39/40 Mayor Street Upper; Dublin 1; D01 C9W8; Irlande