The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities

The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities
Author :
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Total Pages : 385
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780226646701
ISBN-13 : 022664670X
Rating : 4/5 (01 Downloads)

Book Synopsis The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities by : Paul Anthony Jones

Download or read book The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities written by Paul Anthony Jones and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2019-10-14 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Open The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities and you’ll find both a word and a day to remember, every day of the year. Each day has its own dedicated entry, on which a curious or notable event—and an equally curious or notable word—are explored. On the day on which flirting was banned in New York City, for instance, you’ll discover why to “sheep’s-eye” someone once meant to look at them amorously. On the day on which a disillusioned San Franciscan declared himself Emperor of the United States, you’ll find the word “mamamouchi,” a term for people who consider themselves more important than they truly are. And on the day on which George Frideric Handel completed his 259-page Messiah after twenty-four days of frenzied work, you’ll see why a French loanword, literally meaning “a small wooden barrow,” is used to refer to an intense period of work undertaken to meet a deadline. The English language is vast enough to supply us with a word for every occasion—and this linguistic “wunderkammer” is here to prove precisely that. So whatever date this book has found its way into your hands, there’s an entire year’s worth of linguistic curiosities waiting to be found.


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