2107 Curious Word Origins, Sayings and Expressions from White Elephants to a Song & Dance (Hardcover)

~ Charles Earle Funk (Author), Tom Funk (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Why do people "take 40 winks" and not 50...or 60, or 70? Did someone literally "let the cat out of the bag" at one point in time? Has anyone actually "gone on a wild goose chase"? Find out the answers to these questions and many more in this enormous collection, comprised of four bestselling titles: A Hog on Ice, Thereby Hangs a Tale, Heavens to Betsy! and Horsefeathers and Other Curious Words. Dr. Funk, editor-in-chief of the Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary Series, reveals the sometimes surprising, often amusing, and always fascinating roots of more than 2,000 vernacular words and expressions. From "kangaroo court" to "one-horse town", from "face the music" to "hocus-pocus," it's an entertaining linguistic journey.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 988 pages
• Publisher: Galahad (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0883658453
• ISBN-13: 978-0883658451
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.5 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #43,973 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #16 in	Books > Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Slang & Idioms
  #25 in	Books > Reference > Words & Language > Etymology
  #28 in	Books > Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Trivia

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Let The Cat Out of The Bag!, August 9, 2000

By	"goldcoastreviews" (Florida) - See all my reviews

Oh Horsefeathers! Get the word out! This book is over 900 pages of entertaining trivia of cliches, word origins, historic events, classical literature, and even frontier humor plus MORE!

Author, Charles Earie Funk, (yes of Funk & Wagnalls fame) has included four previous bestselling titles, "A Hog On Ice", "Thereby Hangs", "A Tale", "Heavens To Betsy", and "Horsefeathers".

I always enjoy referring back to this fun book. It also makes for a good ice-breaker at a party or even a family gathering. Want to distract pinch-cheeking Auntie Rose? Let her have a gander at "2107 Curious Word Origins, Sayings and Expressions".

Warning--once you start thumbing through this, you'll be speaking in cliches for days!

Superb educational fun for all ages.

-CDS-

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative and fun, February 15, 2003

By	Therese Yeaton "Hopeful optimist" (Renton, Wa USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What a fun book! We often pull this one off the shelf when we use an expression and wonder where it comes from. It is a book that invites browsing, and is hard to close once you are into it. We've learned all sorts of great stuff from this book, and since language does not develop in a void, what we have gleaned from this book has led us to research and learning about other areas as well.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For trivia buffs, crossword addicts and etomologists everwhe, January 30, 2002

By	Kimberly M Wilson "precisioner" (Newport News, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I came across this book at a local bookstore that had a selection of books for word lovers. I perused it while I drank my frappacino, and soon was convinced I had to take it home with me. It is the most intriguing book I have ever read. It is formatted like a dictionary, but for everyone who loves word origin and other trivia, you will come back to it time and again. It is an example of useless knowledge at its best. The history of the word "omelette" is absolutely fascinating, and the evolution in the pronunciation of "one" intrigues me. They still can't decide where "hobo" comes from.

I should mention one minute drawback--the man who first wrote these books (and his son continues the tradition) lived at the beginning of the twentieth century, so the book isn't as "hip" as the title would seem to indicate. If you aren't already interested in words, this won't get you going.