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Thereby Hangs a Tale: Stories of Curious Word Origins
Paperback
EtymologyLinguisticsGeneral World History
ISBN13: 9780060513382
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Published: Oct 1 2002
Pages: 320
Weight: 0.70
Height: 0.90 Width: 5.20 Depth: 7.90
Language: English
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.
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