Catalog Search Results

Why do you "call shotgun" when you want the front passenger seat? What does "letting the cat out of the bag" have to do with divulging secrets? Why do you ask people to "cut to the chase"? How come you hear all those juicy rumors "through the grapevine"? Like many people you've probably used idioms or phrases like these without giving them a second thought. But if you were to take a moment to step back and learn about them you'll be pleasantly surprised...

Eddie and MJ are suddenly transported to India where they must use their word knowledge to solve a mystery and help their new friend Dev save his school.

"It's finally time for the class trip! Every year, Ms. Cassatt brings her class to the city art musuem, and best friends Eddie and MJ . . . have been looking forward to this all year. . . This year they'll magically travel to Paris, France, where they'll visit the famous modern art musuem, the Pompidou Center, only to discover that an art thief has returned"--Back cover.

"Three centuries of English idioms - their unusual origins and unexpected interpretations. To pay through the nose. Raining cats and dogs. By hook or by crook. Curry favor. Drink like a fish. Eat crow. We hear such phrases every day, but this book is the first truly all-encompassing etymological guide to both their meanings and origins. Spanning more than three centuries, Take My Word for It is a fascinating, one-of-a-kind window into the surprisingly...

"A brash, enlightening, and wildly entertaining feminist look at gendered language and the way it shapes us..." -- From dust jacket, front flap.

"The Irish language has thirty-two words for field. Among them are: Geamhar -- a field of corn-grass; Tuar -- a field for cattle at night; Reidhlean -- a field for games or dancing; [and] Cathairin -- a field with a fairy-dwelling in it. The richness of the Irish language is closely tied to the natural landscape and offers a more magical way of seeing the world. Most people associate Britain and Ireland with the English language, a vast, sprawling...

"With warmth, a popular radio and podcast host shares her love of language, weaving together linguistic history, regional phrases, the hidden poetry in etymologies, new words, and stories from her life and time on the air. Martha Barnette has spent two decades as the co-host of A Way with Words, lauded by Mary Norris in The New Yorker as "a virtual treasure house" and "'Car Talk' for Lexiphiles." Over that time, she's developed a keen sense of what...

Looks at the making of the Oxford English dictionary.