It's a Wonderful Word: The Real Origins of Our Favourite Words from Anorak to Zombie

By Albert Jack and Annabeth Albert

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0099562324
• ISBN13: 9780099562320
• Release Date: July 2012
• Publisher: Arrow
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 7.7"