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It's a Wonderful Word

The Real Origins of Our Favourite Words

Albert Jack

$29.99

Paperback

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English
Arrow
15 July 2012
The stories behind the most fascinating words in the English language

Did you know that an assassin is a hashish-eater and a yokel a country woodpecker?

That Dr Mesmer mesmerised patients back to health or that Samuel Pepys enjoyed a good game of handicap?

While we're at it, what have spondulics to do with spines or lawyers with avocados?

In It's a Wonderful Word, bestselling author Albert Jack collects over 500 of the strangest, funniest-sounding and most delightful words in the English language, and traces them back to their often puzzling origins. While brushing up on your gibberish or gobbledygook, discover why bastards should resent travelling salesmen, why sheets should remain on tenterhooks and why you should never set down a tumbler before finishing your drink.

From blotto to bamboozle and from claptrap to quango, Albert Jack's addictive anecdotes bring the world's most colourful language to life and are guaranteed to surprise and entertain.
By:  
Imprint:   Arrow
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 198mm,  Width: 129mm,  Spine: 18mm
Weight:   232g
ISBN:   9780099562320
ISBN 10:   0099562324
Publication Date:  
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  College/higher education ,  General/trade ,  Undergraduate ,  Primary
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

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