Thereby Hangs a Tale

From "mad as a wet hen" to "corn dodger" and "hobgoblin," Charles Funk's collections of curious words and expressions are a treasure trove of word origin.

In a language where hearse and rehearse have the same root and the word dunce comes from a great philosopher, English has hundreds of everyday words that originated or acquired their meanings in unusual ways. Dictionaries don't have the space to tell us all the mysteries but now Dr. Funk, with humor and insight, tells us the strange and intriguing stories of hundreds of words and how they came to be a part of our language.

Author: Charles E. Funk
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Published: 11/18/1993
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 8.01h x 5.33w x 0.78d
ISBN: 9780062720498

About the Author
Funk, Charles E.: -

Charles Earle Funk was editor in chief of the Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary Series. He wrote several other books on word and phrase origins, including Horsefeathers, Heavens to Betsy!, and Thereby Hangs a Tale.