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Port Out, Starboard Home

2004 Language Arts & Disciplines
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Release : 2004
Genre : Language Arts & Disciplines
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : /5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Port Out, Starboard Home by : Michael Quinion

Download or read book Port Out, Starboard Home written by Michael Quinion. This book was released on 2004. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the true origin of the phrase 'one fell swoop'? Does the word 'honeymoon' really derive from an old Persian custom of giving the happy couple mead, a honey wine, for the first month after the wedding? The rapid growth of the internet and the use of email has increased the circulation of (usually) false tales about the evolution of language. In this entertaining and fascinating new book on the origins of words and expressions, Michael Quinion retells the mythic tales that have become popular currency - the word 'posh' deriving from 'port out, starboard home' - and also tries to find and explain the true stories behind the origins of phrases. Quinion offers explanations of why and how stories about words are created, and how misunderstanding word origins - while usually harmless - can have serious consequences.

Port Out, Starboard Home

2005-09-01 Language Arts & Disciplines
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Release : 2005-09-01
Genre : Language Arts & Disciplines
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 048/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Port Out, Starboard Home by : Michael Quinion

Download or read book Port Out, Starboard Home written by Michael Quinion. This book was released on 2005-09-01. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Why is Q Always Followed by U?

2009-07-02 Humor
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Release : 2009-07-02
Genre : Humor
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 69X/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Why is Q Always Followed by U? by : Michael Quinion

Download or read book Why is Q Always Followed by U? written by Michael Quinion. This book was released on 2009-07-02. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Long-time word-detective and bestselling author of Port Out, Starboard Home, Michael Quinion brings us the answers to nearly two hundred of the most intriguing questions he's been asked about language over the years. Sent to him by enquiring readers from all around the globe, Michael's answers about the meanings and histories behind the quirky phrases, slang and language that we all use are set to delight, amuse and enlighten even the most hardened word-obsessive. Did you know that 'Blighty' comes from an ancient Arabic word? Or that Liberace cried his way to the bank so many times people think he came up with the phrase? That 'cloud nine' started out as 'cloud seven' in the speakeasies of '30s America? And that the first person to have their thunder stolen was a dismal playwright from Drury Lane? Michael Quinion's Why is Q Always Followed By U? is full of surprising discoveries, entertaining quotations and memorable information. There are plenty of colourful stories out there, but Michael Quinion will help you discover the truth that lies behind the cock-and-bull stories and make sure you're always linguistically on the ball.

Starboard and Port the "Nettie" Along Shore

2024-06-08 Fiction
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Release : 2024-06-08
Genre : Fiction
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 06X/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Starboard and Port the "Nettie" Along Shore by : George Hughes Hepworth

Download or read book Starboard and Port the "Nettie" Along Shore written by George Hughes Hepworth. This book was released on 2024-06-08. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reprint of the original, first published in 1876.

Word Myths

2008-11-06 Language Arts & Disciplines
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Release : 2008-11-06
Genre : Language Arts & Disciplines
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 836/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Word Myths by : David Wilton

Download or read book Word Myths written by David Wilton. This book was released on 2008-11-06. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you "know" that posh comes from an acronym meaning "port out, starboard home"? That "the whole nine yards" comes from (pick one) the length of a WWII gunner's belt; the amount of fabric needed to make a kilt; a sarcastic football expression? That Chicago is called "The Windy City" because of the bloviating habits of its politicians, and not the breeze off the lake? If so, you need this book. David Wilton debunks the most persistently wrong word histories, and gives, to the best of our actual knowledge, the real stories behind these perennially mis-etymologized words. In addition, he explains why these wrong stories are created, disseminated, and persist, even after being corrected time and time again. What makes us cling to these stories, when the truth behind these words and phrases is available, for the most part, at any library or on the Internet? Arranged by chapters, this book avoids a dry A-Z format. Chapters separate misetymologies by kind, including The Perils of Political Correctness (picnics have nothing to do with lynchings), Posh, Phat Pommies (the problems of bacronyming--the desire to make every word into an acronym), and CANOE (which stands for the Conspiracy to Attribute Nautical Origins to Everything). Word Myths corrects long-held and far-flung examples of wrong etymologies, without taking the fun out of etymology itself. It's the best of both worlds: not only do you learn the many wrong stories behind these words, you also learn why and how they are created--and what the real story is.

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