{"product_id":"strange-to-say-etymology-as-serious-entertainment-9781589881570","title":"Strange to Say: Etymology as Serious Entertainment","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"[Warren's] curiosity and embrace of the unpredictable, as well as her delight in both the archaic and the homespun, animate \u003ci\u003eStrange to Say\u003c\/i\u003e, a tour of English that savors the language's mutability.\"―\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal \u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A great read for those who appreciate seeing the whimsy in words, as Warren remarkably achieves etymological entertainment.\"―\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eBooklist\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"You can't stop language, because when \u003c\/i\u003eall's said and done\u003ci\u003e is never.\"\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn her witty account of the origins of many English words and expressions, Deborah Warren educates as she entertains―and entertain she does, leading her readers through the amazing labyrinthian history of related words. \"Language,\" she writes, \"is all about mutation.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRead here about the first meanings of common words and phrases, including dessert, vodka, lunatic, tulip, dollar, bikini, peeping tom, peter out, and devil's advocate. A former Latin teacher, Warren is a gifted poet and a writer of great playfulness. \u003ci\u003eStrange to Say\u003c\/i\u003e is a cornucopia of joyful learning and laughter. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDid you know... \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLord Cardigan was a British aristocrat and military man known for the sweater jackets he sported. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA lying lawyer might \u003ci\u003epull the wool over a judge's eyes\u003c\/i\u003e--yank his wig down across his face. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the original tale of Cinderella, her slippers were made of \u003ci\u003evair\u003c\/i\u003e (\"fur\")--which in the orally-told story mistakenly turned into the homonym \u003ci\u003everre\u003c\/i\u003e (\"glass\"). \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLike \u003ci\u003elaundry, lavender\u003c\/i\u003e evolved from Italian \u003ci\u003elavanderia\u003c\/i\u003e, \"things to be washed.\" The plant was used as a clothes freshener. It smells better than, say, the misspelled Downy Unstopable with the ad that touts its \"feisty freshness,\" unaware that \u003ci\u003efeisty\u003c\/i\u003e evolved from Middle English \u003ci\u003efisten\u003c\/i\u003e--fart.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDeborah Warren is the author of four books of poetry--\u003ci\u003eConnoisseurs of Worms\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Size of Happiness\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eZero Meridian\u003c\/i\u003e, winner of the New Criterion Poetry Prize, and \u003ci\u003eDream With Flowers and Bowl of Fruit\u003c\/i\u003e, winner of the Richard Wilbur Award--and a translation of \u003ci\u003eAusonius: The Moselle and Other Poems\u003c\/i\u003e. Warren's writing has appeared in the \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eParis Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePoetry\u003c\/i\u003e, and other publications, and she has won the Robert Penn Warren Prize, Howard Nemerov Award, Robert Frost Award, and Meringoff Award for her work. She lives in Massachusetts.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Paul Dry Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50567694778642,"sku":"9781589881570","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_03b817f6-8e1e-4f86-947b-610001557ca7.jpg?v=1731926554","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/strange-to-say-etymology-as-serious-entertainment-9781589881570","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}