![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Petty-fogger - a term that is exactly what it sounds like-someone who promotes quarrels or encourages going to law for trivial reasons. It is a compendium of words once common and no longer used, where they came from, what they meant, and in some cases what they have morphed into over time. When I was in college, I took a linguistics and etymology course that was one of my favorites. This book was not precisely what I imagined but I enjoyed it just the same. The writing style was pretty good and I probably would have enjoyed this book more if I hadn't just read The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way by Bill Bryson. I would have preferred more definitions and less of the fluffier bits. Don't get me started on Scandaroon, Nimgimmer, or Kingsevil. Did you know that a stirrup-cup, a mug of some alcoholic beverage handed to a horsed patron of a tavern as he leaves, is the origin of the phrase "one for the road?" That's just one of the words within. While it is that, it's also a lot more.įorgotten English contains a lot of words, some seldom used, some probably never uttered aloud in several centuries, and a lot of fun facts pertaining to them. When I saw this book, I was picturing a dictionary full of words that have fallen out of favor. Forgotten English is a collection of antiquated words and their histories. ![]()
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