Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins

by Hendrickson, Robert

• ISBN13: 9780816048137
• ISBN10: 0816048134
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-12-01
• Publisher: Facts on File

Summary

Praise for the previous editions: A feast for phrase detectives...that will enliven debates and illuminate issues.-William Safire ...recommended for large public and academic libraries that serve the curious as well as the scholarly., Choice ...roughly triple the greatest number [of entries] in any previous collection of its kind.-Reference and Research Book News ...language lovers will romp among its pages with as much excitement as a cat rolling in catnip., Reference Reviews on www.gale.com ...provides a winner to any who want a comprehensive coverage more in-depth than most casual lay treatments. This A-Z collection includes slang, proverbs, animal and place names and historical expressions under one cover, making an invaluable reference for students of language., Midwest Book Review Clear and easy to read...provides a wealth of background material for anyone interested in words and languages., Calliope An updated and expanded edition

Table of Contents

Preface to the Third Edition	p. v
Preface to the Original Edition	p. vii
Abbreviations for the Most Frequently Cited Authorities	p. ix
Entries A-Z	p. 1
Index	p. 807
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Praise for the previous editions:
A feast for phrase detectives...that will enliven debates and illuminate issues.—William Safire
...recommended for large public and academic libraries that serve the curious as well as the scholarly.—Choice
...roughly triple the greatest number [of entries] in any previous collection of its kind.—Reference & Research Book News
...language lovers will romp among its pages with as much excitement as a cat rolling in catnip.—Reference Reviews on www.gale.com
...provides a winner to any who want a comprehensive coverage more in-depth than most casual lay treatments. This A-Z collection includes slang, proverbs, animal and place names and historical expressions under one cover, making an invaluable reference for students of language.—Midwest Book Review
Clear and easy to read...provides a wealth of background material for anyone interested in words and languages.—Calliope
An updated and expanded edition, The Facts On File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, Third Edition contains definitions and origins of more than 12,500 words and expressions, making it the most comprehensive single-volume reference of its kind. Anecdotes and information on the development of a wide range of words, including slang, proverbs, animal and plant names, place names, nicknames, historical expressions, foreign language expressions, and phrases from literature, are included. The emphasis throughout is on words and expressions whose origins are not adequately explained, or not addressed at all, in standard dictionaries. With approximately 3,500 new entries, this appealing encyclopedia will engage word lovers and researchers alike.
New entries include:
All the world's a stage
Axis; Allies; Axis of Evil
Black dog
Bollywood
Icebound
Infracaninophile
A Jones
Juvenalian
Kafkaesque
Karaoke
Kept woman
Larrikin
Let's roll!
Limburger
Nightcap
No dice
Old fuddy duddy
Peep walk
Rap music; flyting
Royal we.