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Author: Hugh Rawson
Publisher:
Published: 2002
Total Pages: 268
ISBN-13: 9780785817000
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis complete summary packed with colorful and educational anecdotes offers information about the odd origins of such diverse words and phrases as condom, sirloin, horse latitudes, harlot, and shyster.
Author: Patricia T. O'Conner
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Published: 2010-08-24
Total Pages: 290
ISBN-13: 0812978102
DOWNLOAD EBOOKDo you cringe when a talking head pronounces “niche” as NITCH? Do you get bent out of shape when your teenager begins a sentence with “and”? Do you think British spellings are more “civilised” than the American versions? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’re myth-informed. In Origins of the Specious, word mavens Patricia T. O’Conner and Stewart Kellerman reveal why some of grammar’s best-known “rules” aren’t—and never were—rules at all. This playfully witty, rigorously researched book sets the record straight about bogus word origins, politically correct fictions, phony français, fake acronyms, and more. Here are some shockers: “They” was once commonly used for both singular and plural, much the way “you” is today. And an eighteenth-century female grammarian, of all people, is largely responsible for the all-purpose “he.” From the Queen’s English to street slang, this eye-opening romp will be the toast of grammarphiles and the salvation of grammarphobes. Take our word for it.
Author: Geoffrey Hughes
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2015-03-26
Total Pages: 600
ISBN-13: 1317476786
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis is the only encyclopedia and social history of swearing and foul language in the English-speaking world. It covers the various social dynamics that generate swearing, foul language, and insults in the entire range of the English language. While the emphasis is on American and British English, the different major global varieties, such as Australian, Canadian, South African, and Caribbean English are also covered. A-Z entries cover the full range of swearing and foul language in English, including fascinating details on the history and origins of each term and the social context in which it found expression. Categories include blasphemy, obscenity, profanity, the categorization of women and races, and modal varieties, such as the ritual insults of Renaissance "flyting" and modern "sounding" or "playing the dozens." Entries cover the historical dimension of the language, from Anglo-Saxon heroic oaths and the surprising power of medieval profanity, to the strict censorship of the Renaissance and the vibrant, modern language of the streets. Social factors, such as stereotyping, xenophobia, and the dynamics of ethnic slurs, as well as age and gender differences in swearing are also addressed, along with the major taboo words and the complex and changing nature of religious, sexual, and racial taboos.
Author: Mark Morton
Publisher: Insomniac Press
Published: 2004
Total Pages: 337
ISBN-13: 1897415931
DOWNLOAD EBOOKCupboard Love explores the fascinating stories behind familiar and no-so-familiar gastronomic terms. Who knew that the word pomegranate is related to the word grenade? Light-hearted and thoroughly researched, packed with linguistic lore and cultural trivia.
Author: Lewis Carroll
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 2000
Total Pages: 343
ISBN-13: 0393048470
DOWNLOAD EBOOKPresents an annotated version of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass," including recently discovered John Tenniel illustrations and newly added Martin Gardner annotations.
Author: William Safire
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2011-08-03
Total Pages: 471
ISBN-13: 030779976X
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAmerica's most entertaining language maven is back with more words to live by in his latest exploration of hot catchphrases, syntactical controversies, and other matters of national linguistic importance. Before you scratch that seven-year-itch, you might want to know where it came from. And before someone blurts, "You just don't get it," perhaps you should consult the Pulitzer Prize winning language columnist on the origins of that snappy feminist motto.
Author: Sol Steinmetz
Publisher: Random House Reference
Published: 2012-01-11
Total Pages: 395
ISBN-13: 0307496465
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIf time travelers from the nineteenth century dropped in on us, our strange vocabulary would shock them just as much as our TVs, cars, and computers. Society changes, and so does its word stock. The Life of Language reveals how pop culture, business, technology, and other forces of globalization expand and enrich the English language, forming thousands of new words every year. In this fascinating and jargon-free guide, lexicographers Kipfer and Steinmetz reconstruct the births of thousands of words, including infantries, poz, mobs, Soho, dinks, choo choos, frankenfoods, LOL, narcs and perps. · A word lover’s guide to etymology, written in a fun, informal, and accessible style · An excellent resource for vocabulary building; a word's root helps readers understand its meaning · Beautifully packaged paperback with French flaps From the Trade Paperback edition.
Author: Bryan A. Garner
Publisher: Univ of Chicago+ORM
Published: 2016-05-16
Total Pages: 680
ISBN-13: 022619129X
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe authoritative guide to using the English language effectively, from “the greatest writer on grammar and usage that this country has ever produced” (David Yerkes, Columbia University). The author of The Chicago Manual of Style’s popular “Grammar and Usage” chapter, Bryan A. Garner is renowned for explaining the vagaries of English with absolute precision and utmost clarity. With The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation, he has written the definitive guide for writers who want their prose to be both memorable and correct. Garner describes standard literary English—the forms that mark writers and speakers as educated users of the language. He also offers historical context for understanding the development of these forms. The section on grammar explains how the canonical parts of speech came to be identified, while the section on syntax covers the nuances of sentence patterns as well as both traditional sentence diagramming and transformational grammar. The usage section provides an unprecedented trove of empirical evidence in the form of Google Ngrams, diagrams that illustrate the changing prevalence of specific terms over decades and even centuries of English literature. Garner also treats punctuation and word formation, and concludes the book with an exhaustive glossary of grammatical terms and a bibliography of suggested further reading and references. The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation is a magisterial work, the culmination of Garner’s lifelong study of the English language. The result is a landmark resource that will offer clear guidelines to students, writers, and editors alike. “[A manual] for those of us laboring to produce expository prose: nonfiction books, journalistic articles, memorandums, business letters. The conservatism of his advice pushes you to consider audience and occasion, so that you will understand when to follow convention and when you can safely break it.”—John E. McIntyre, Baltimore Sun
Author: Rob Kyff
Publisher: Creators Publishing
Published: 2014-06-15
Total Pages: 216
ISBN-13: 0984871357
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIf you’re fascinated by words and language, you’ll revel in Word Up! A Lively Look at English by Rob Kyff a.k.a. The Word Guy. Drawn from Kyff's nationally syndicated column on language, this spirited book treats readers to a zesty verbal smorgasbord: handy tips on good writing and usage, fascinating stories behind word and phrase origins, whimsical word play and linguistic oddities. With wit and warmth, Word Up! explores everything from the split infinitive controversy to apostrophe catastrophes to the true etymology of hooker. Each chapter concludes with a quiz that gives you a chance to test your word knowledge. A blend of William Safire and Dave Barry, Word Up! combines learning and laughter in ways that will surprise and delight you.
Author: Bryan A. Garner
Publisher: Oxford University
Published: 2003
Total Pages: 930
ISBN-13: 0195161912
DOWNLOAD EBOOKPainstakingly researched with copious citations from books, newspapers, and news magazines, this new edition has become the classic reference work praised by professional copy editors.
