{"product_id":"word-myths-debunking-linguistic-urban-legends-9780195375572","title":"Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends","description":"Do you believe that Ring Around the Rosie refers to the Black Death? Or that Eskimos have 50 (or 500) words for snow? Or that Posh is an acronym for Port Out, Starboard Home? If so, you badly need this book. In \u003cem\u003eWord Myths, \u003c\/em\u003e David Wilton debunks some of the most spectacularly wrong word\u003cbr\u003ehistories in common usage, giving us the real stories behind many linguistic urban legends.\u003cbr\u003e Readers will discover the true history behind such popular words and expressions such as rule of thumb, the whole nine yards, hot dog, raining cats and dogs, chew the fat, AWOL, under the weather, in like Flynn, Dixie, son of a gun, tinker's damn, and many more. We learn\u003cbr\u003ethat SOS was not originally an acronym for Save Our Ship or Save Our Souls, but was chosen because the morse code signal (3 dots, 3 dashes, 3 dots) was easy to send and recognize. Also, let the cat out of the bag does not refer to the whip (the cat) used to punish sailors aboard ship. The\u003cbr\u003eterm upset (to defeat unexpectedly) does not date from the horse race when the heavily favored Man O' War was beaten by a nag named Upset (Upset was the only horse ever to defeat Man O' War, but the word predates the race by half a century). And Thomas Crapper did not invent the flush toilet, nor\u003cbr\u003edo the words crap or crapper derive from his name.\u003cbr\u003e As Wilton quashes these word myths, he offers us the best of both worlds: not only do we learn the many wrong stories behind these words, we also learn why and how they were created--and what the real story is. Think 'hot dog' was coined by a New York baseball vendor, or that a certain\u003cbr\u003evulgarity originated as an acronym? Then you need to read this book, which shows that some of the best etymological stories are just tall tales. --\u003cem\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/em\u003e (10 Best Books About Language, 2004)\u003cbr\u003eMost everything you know about word and phrase origins is likely to be wrong, and David Wilton proves it with a light touch and a wealth of fascinating case histories. Absolutely everyone with an interest in language will love this book. --J.E. Lighter, Editor, \u003cem\u003eHistorical Dictionary of American\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eSlang\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-3353958\"\u003eDavid Wilton\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/01\/2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.59lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.90h x 5.34w x 0.63d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780195375572\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0195375572\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-LAN\"\u003eLanguage Arts \u0026amp; Disciplines\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-LAN009050\"\u003eLinguistics | Sociolinguistics\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-LAN\"\u003eLanguage Arts \u0026amp; Disciplines\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-LAN024000\"\u003eLinguistics | Etymology\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDavid Wilton\u003c\/strong\u003e is the creator and editor of wordorigins.org, since 1997 a leading Internet site for word and phrase origins. He has served as a journalist, Army officer, defense contractor, chemical and biological arms control negotiator, and software marketing executive. He lives in California.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis title is not returnable\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Oxford University Press, USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42663237288173,"sku":"9780195375572","price":16.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_4b0308f1-d1e8-4f79-9480-67b6ea7a3d42.jpg?v=1649393024","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/word-myths-debunking-linguistic-urban-legends-9780195375572","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}