Casual Lex: An Informal Assemblage of Why We Say What We Say
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.17 (598 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1401602185 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 256 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-11-29 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Webb Garrison, formerly associate dean of Emory University and president of McKendree College, wrote more than 55 books, including Civil War Curiosities and Civil War Trivia and Fact Book. Before his death in 2000, Garrison lived in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina.
Before his death in 2000, Garrison lived in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. About the AuthorWebb Garrison, formerly associate dean of Emory University and president of McKendree College, wrote more than 55 books, including Civil War Curiosities and Civil War Trivia and Fact Book.
This fresh edition of the classic Why You Say It will turn you on to the fascinating?and often surprising?stories behind everyday words and phrases. Experience Casual Lex and discover:The phrase hell on wheels comes from the early American practice of renting railway flatcars to create rolling casinos and brothels bound for the Wild West.Gibberish was the word coined by English villagers to describe the hard-to-understand dialects of certain bands of Gypsies.Gymnasium comes from the Greek word gymnos, which means "naked"?Greek athletes trained and competed in the nude.If your joy of language has been aroused, then many more surprises await you. After all, even the most formal users of our language can benefit from a little Casual Lex.. Are you a lover of language?Awaken your passion for words, and savor the
A mixture of good, dubious, wrong, and "so what?" Robert C. Baruch Do you know where the phrase "Achilles' heel" came from? If you're at least past fourth grade in the U.S., you sure do. Hey, do you know where the word "apocalyptic" came from? Guess what, it's from the Greek!The book is filled with words and figures of speech we commonly use, and explanations of where they came from. Some explanations are simple etymologies, and not at all. A Casual Read Jeffrey Swystun Garrison had a love of language especially an engaging and involved turn of phrase. His children write the Forward to this book and explain it is the amalgam of two previous books. I was surprised to find it is not a narrative but more a colloquial dictionary. Each word or phrase's history, dubious or otherwise, is provided. The result is it more akin to those bathroom comp