Publisher Description
Do you know …
-
why a mortgage
is literally a death pledge?
-
why guns have
girls’ names?
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why salt is
related to soldier?
You’re about to find out.
The
Etymologicon e-tə-‘mä-lä-ji-kän is:
-
Witty wi-tē:
Full of clever humor
-
Erudite er-ə-ˌdīt:
Showing knowledge
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Ribald ri-bəld:
Crude, offensive
The Etymologicon is a completely unauthorized guide to the strange
underpinnings of the English language. It explains how you get from “gruntled”
to “disgruntled”; why you are absolutely right to believe that your meager
salary barely covers “money for salt”; how the biggest chain of coffee shops in
the world (hint: Seattle) connects to whaling in Nantucket; and what precisely
the Rolling Stones have to do with gardening.
Download and start listening now!
“Mark Forsyth is clearly a man who knows his onions.”
—
Daily Telegraph (London)
About Mark Forsyth
Mark Forsyth is a writer, journalist, proofreader, ghostwriter,
and pedant. He was given a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary as a
christening present and has never looked back. Forsyth is the creator of The Inky Fool, a blog about words,
phrases, grammar, rhetoric, and prose. He lives in the United Kingdom.
About Don Hagen
Don Hagen has been behind the microphone since fifth grade. He is a nine-time winner of the Peer Award for narration/voice-over and twice winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award. He has also been heard in radio and television commercials and documentaries. In addition to his freelance voice work, he is a member of the audiobook narration team at the Library of Congress.