1988
First Published
3.77
Average Rating
256
Number of Pages
A colorful compendium of everyday words and phrases and where they originated. The English language is a treasury of splendid mysteries, among them the many words and phrases whose origins we no longer know. Often the original meaning was literal, pertaining to forgotten objects or activities―such as "aftermath," which once meant the grass that sprang up after a farmer had mowed a field. With the informal scholarship and good-humored wit that are his trademarks, Robert Claiborne reveals the wonders buried in our speech, vivid images of people and customs of the past. As the reader soon discovers, they are "a sort of hidden poetry that can heighten the colors and sharpen the meanings of words and phrases that we read or write daily."
Avg Rating
3.77
Number of Ratings
31
5 STARS
23%
4 STARS
39%
3 STARS
32%
2 STARS
6%
1 STARS
0%
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Author
Robert Claiborne
Author · 5 books
Robert Watson Claiborne, Jr. (1919–1990) American folk singer, labor organizer and writer. He wrote primarily about science and linguistics.
