The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language

From Barnes & NobleThe publishers of Mark Forsyth's The Etymologicon credit it with being witty ("full of clever humor"), erudite ("showing knowledge") and ribald ("crude, offensive.") We too could pile up the positive adjectives, but prefer to simply delight in the book's unbridled, galloping tour of words and expressions that we toss to the winds daily. Even the asides of the blogger who calls himself the Inky Fool are delicious: Witness his description of how Thomas de Quincy kept himself supplied with drugs with the sales of his cautionary Confessions of an Opium Eater or his digressions on the multiple meanings of SPAM or how hosts gave unwelcome guests the cold shoulder. Editor's recommendation.





Kirkus Reviews