Strange Bedfellows: The Private Lives of Words [Paperback]

Howard Richler (Author)

List Price:	CDN$ 19.95
Price:	CDN$ 15.96 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 25. Details
You Save:	CDN$ 3.99 (20%)
	o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca. Gift-wrap available.

Only 2 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want it delivered Monday, February 13? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveri... by Simon Winchester
5.0 out of 5 stars (3)

CDN$ 20.05

Product Details

Paperback: 164 pages
Publisher: Ronsdale Press; 1 edition (Mar 15 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1553801008
ISBN-13: 978-1553801009
Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 16.1 x 1.1 cm
Shipping Weight: 322 g
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #167,977 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #53 in Books > Reference > Words & Language > Etymology

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Review

“an etymological delight.” — Concordia University Magazine; “one of the more delightful books to hit my desk this season. . . . It’s a fascinating, informative, and engrossing book on a great number of words, their origin, original meaning, and for some of them, where the English language has stolen them from. It’s also often amusing, and I find myself still—weeks after getting the book—dipping into it.” — The Commentary, Interview; “Word nerds rejoice! . . . Howard Richler delivers another riotously funny and informative text.” — Telegraph-Journal

Product Description

The bawdy English language has never been overly concerned with purity, and this promiscuous proclivity has contributed to many alluring word histories. Words, like species, evolve, and particularly those words that have been in existence for many centuries have undergone major evolutions in meaning. When you read Strange Bedfellows: The Private Lives of Words, you will discover the unexpected. For example, why gossiping in church is etymologically proper, and that words such as “avocado” and “porcelain” have past associations with some of the nether regions of the body. As Richler reveals, the English language has slept around for centuries and in the process has been “contaminated” by many foreign influences. Composed of short chapters with each containing ten words from specific fields, Strange Bedfellows will surprise and delight the reader.

See all Product Description

Inside This Book (Learn More)