Devious Derivations: Popular Misconceptions, and More Than 1,000 True Origins of Common Words and PhrasesThis complete summary packed with colorful and educational anecdotes offers information about the odd origins of such diverse words and phrases as condom, sirloin, horse latitudes, harlot, and shyster. |
Other editions - View all
Devious Derivations: Popular Misconceptions, and More Than 1,000 True ... Hugh Rawson No preview available - 1994 |
Common terms and phrases
abbreviation acronym actually American Anglo-Saxon animal appears applied Arabic associated ball began bird bogus British called Captain Francis Charles Cheshire cat citation Classical Dictionary comes Condom corruption crap dance dated derives devil Dixie Dutch earliest example early edition English Language 1755 eponym Etymological Dictionary etymologists etymology euphemism explanation expression farthingale fawney female folk etymology Francis Grose German golliwogg goose Greek Gung hatter horse humble pie Italian James John Johnson known Latin linguistic London McCoy meaning meanwhile medieval Middle English Middle French modern nineteenth century Old French Old Norse older Oxford English Dictionary perhaps person phrase popular probably real McCoy recorded referring rhyme root sailors Samuel Samuel Johnson Scottish seems sense seventeenth century Shakespeare sixteenth century slang soldiers song Spanish spelling story suggested supposedly term theory Thomas Crapper translation turn variant verb vessel Vulgar Tongue William woman word origins word's Yankee York