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It's a Wonderful Word: The Real Origins of Our Favourite Words

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It's a Wonderful Word: The Real Origins of Our Favourite Words

Author:   Albert Jack
Publisher:   Cornerstone
ISBN:  

9780099562320


Pages:   288
Publication Date:   05 July 2012
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   To order   Availability explained
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.


RRP $19.95 Price $16.95 Quantity:  
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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.

Full Product Details

Author:   Albert Jack
Publisher:   Cornerstone
Imprint:   Arrow Books Ltd
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Width: 12.90cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 19.80cm
Weight:   0.212kg
ISBN:  

9780099562320


ISBN 10:   0099562324
Pages:   288
Publication Date:   05 July 2012
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order   Availability explained
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

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ALBERT JACK is a writer and historian. His first book, Red Herrings and White Elephants, explored the origins of well-known phrases; an international bestseller, it was serialised by the Sunday Times for over a year. He followed up this success with a series of bestsellers including Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep and Pop Goes the Weasel, a book exploring the dark histories and little-known meanings behind nursery rhymes. Fascinated by discovering the truth behind the world's great stories, Albert has become an expert in explaining the unexplained. He is now a veteran of hundreds of live television shows and thousands of radio appearances worldwide. He divides his time between Guildford and Cape Town.

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