Low Price Guarantee
We Take School POs
Word Drops: A Sprinkling of Linguistic Curiosities
Contributor(s): Jones, Paul Anthony (Author)

View larger image

ISBN: 0826356567     ISBN-13: 9780826356567
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
Retail: $19.95OUR PRICE: $14.56  
  Buy 25 or more:OUR PRICE: $13.37   Save More!
  Buy 100 or more:OUR PRICE: $12.77   Save More!


  WE WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD!   Click here for our low price guarantee

Binding Type: Paperback - See All Available Formats & Editions
Published: April 2016
Qty:
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Language Arts & Disciplines | Spelling & Vocabulary
- Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics - General
Dewey: 413.028
LCCN: 2015023670
Physical Information: 0.6" H x 5.6" W x 8.4" L (0.53 lbs) 216 pages
Features: Bibliography, Illustrated, Price on Product
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

From aardvark to zenzizenzizenzic, Word Drops collects a thousand obscure words and language facts in one fascinating chain of word associations. Did you know, for example, that scandal derives from the Latin for stumbling block and originally described a trap for a wild animal? In nineteenth-century slang a wolf trap was a corrupt casino. Casino means little house in Italian. Roulette means little wheel in French. A wheeler is someone who attends auctions to bid on items merely to increase their sale price. Such links take readers on an unexpected journey through linguistic oddities. Inspired by the popular @HaggardHawks Twitter account, Word Drops also uses an intriguing series of annotations to add background and historical context on everything from Anglo-Saxon cures for insanity to Samuel Pepys's cure for a hangover. This unique book will delight anyone who loves language, etymology, and word games.

Not for sale in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, or Canada


Contributor Bio(s): Jones, Paul Anthony: - Paul Anthony Jones is the author of Haggard Hawks and Paltry Poltroons: The Origins of English in Ten Words and Jedburgh Justice and Kentish Fire: The Story of English in Ten Phrases and Expressions. He lives in Newcastle upon Tyne, in the northeast of England.
 
Customer ReviewsSubmit your own review
 
To tell a friend about this book, you must Sign In First!