The Etymologicon
by Mark Forsyth | 
Semantic Antics
by Sol Steinmetz | 
The Word Museum
by Jeffrey Kacirk | 
The Dord, the Diglot, and an Avocado or Two
by Anu Garg | 
The roots of English
by Robert Claiborne |
More Weird and Wonderful Words
by Erin McKean |
Blooming English
by Kate Burridge | 
The American Language
by H. L. Mencken | 
The Play of Words
by Richard Lederer |
By Hook or By Crook
by David Crystal | 
Expletive Deleted
by Ruth Wajnryb | 
Crazy English
by Richard Lederer | 
The Fight for English
by David Crystal |
Between You and I
by James Cochrane | 
Weird and Wonderful Words
by Erin McKean |
Can it really be true that 'golf' stands for 'Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden'? Or that 'rule of thumb' comes from an archaic legal principle that a man may chastise his wife, but only with a rod no thicker than his thumb? These and hundreds of other stories are commonly told and retold whenever people meet. They grow up in part because expressions are often genuinely mysterious. Why, for example, are satisfying meals 'square' rather than any other shape? And how did anyone ever come up with the idea that if you're competent at something you can 'cut the mustard'? Michael Quinion here retells many of the more bizarre tales, and explains their real origins where they're known. This is a fascinating treasure-trove of fiction and fact for anyone interested in language.