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Comic, skeptic, cyber-sleuth, syndicated columnist, and inspired wordsmith, Evan Morris is the Word Detective. He's an etymologist with a sense of humor, a lexicographer with an attitude. Morris's unique approach to language and his distinctive brand of absurdity have found a loyal following of readers curious about everything from soup to nuts--and that means the origins of the phrase soup to nuts, and thousands more words and phrases. This book is a collection of 150 of Morris's language columns, which appear in newspapers throughout the country and on his popular Web site.
A clueless husband writes the Word Detective to ask if his wife has insulted him by calling him gormless. Coworkers write to settle a watercooler dispute about the logic of feed a cold, starve a fever. The Word Detective snoops around, follows the leads, and uncovers the answers. The book is chock-full of fascinating lore about the origins and uses of the English language and includes special sections exploring groups of words such as euphemisms, eponyms, and onomatopoeic forms. Funny and offbeat, clever and curmudgeonly, irreverent and irritable, this detective is for all of us who appreciate a dash of wit with our words.
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Angela Moore
reviewed The Word Detective on March 10, 2014
The Word Detective
The dust jacket describes this work as “a collection of Morris’s language columns, which appear in newspapers around the world and on his popular Web site. The Q&A format makes for lively and unusual interactions between Morris and his readers. …This little book is chock-full of fascinating lore about the origins and uses of the English language…”
What can I say that isn’t already covered by the dust jacket? It’s more than just a collection, it’s a handy reference tool, covering everything from soup to nuts – well, maybe not everything, but quite a lot, beginning with amok and ending with zarf.
I used to love to read encyclopedias and dictionaries. I’d open a volume to a random page and just start reading. I found it enlightening and relaxing – a great break from (or way to avoid) studying whatever I was supposed to be studying. And what teacher/librarian/parent would scold me for looking something up in the dictionary? Those of us who love language and words will find plenty to delight, intrigue and tickle our fancies (whatever THAT phrase means – it’s not covered in this volume). Still, a little goes a long way, and reading it cover to cover as I did for a challenge meant that I grew bored.
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Add The Word Detective, Comic, skeptic, cyber-sleuth, syndicated columnist, and inspired wordsmith, Evan Morris is the Word Detective. He's an etymologist with a sense of humor, a lexicographer with an attitude. Morris's unique approach to language and his distinctive brand of a, The Word Detective to your collection on WonderClub |