Washoe County Library System

On Shelf

South Valleys Library - Children's Nonfiction
J 422.03 WUL 2003
1 available

Description

Provides the stories behind the meanings of such common words and phrases as Adidas, jeep, ketchup, peeping Tom, tuxedo, and Yankees.

2) The story of English in 100 words

Author

Crystal, David

Publisher

St. Martin's Press

Pub. Date

c2012

Language

English

On Shelf

South Valleys Library - Adult Nonfiction
422 CRYSTA 2011
1 available

Description

The world's foremost expert on the English language takes us on an entertaining and eye-opening tour of the history of our vernacular through the ages.

Reading List for logophiles

3) Reading the OED: one man, one year, 21,730 pages

Author

Shea, Ammon

Publisher

Penguin Group

Pub. Date

2009

Language

English

Appears on list

On Shelf

South Valleys Library - Adult Nonfiction
423.028 SHEA 2009
1 available

Description

An obsessive word lover's account of reading the Oxford English Dictionary cover to cover

4) Take my word for it: a dictionary of English idioms

Author

Liberman, Anatoly

Publisher

University of Minnesota Press

Pub. Date

[2022]

Language

English

On Shelf

South Valleys Library - Adult Nonfiction
423.13 LIBERM 2022
1 available

Description

"Spanning more than three centuries, Take My Word for It is a fascinating, one-of-a-kind window into the surprisingly short history of idioms in English. Widely known for his studies of word origins, Anatoly Liberman explains more than one thousand idioms, both popular and obscure, occurring in both American and British standard English and including many regional expressions"-- "Three centuries of English idioms—their unusual origins and unexpected...