Overview

What is a gallimaufry anyway? And when did you last hear someone refer to the wireless? What was the original paraphernalia? Would you wear a billycock? Language is always changing, and here Michael Quinion, author of the bestselling POSH and Other Language Myths, has gathered together some fascinating examples of words and meanings which have vanished from our language. Sometimes a word is lost when the thing it describes becomes obsolete, sometimes it survives in a figurative sense while the original meaning is lost, and sometimes it simply gives way to a more popular alternative. The story of these and many other words opens a window into the lives of past speakers of the English language.

Full Product Details

Author:   Michael Quinion
Publisher:   Oxford University Press
Imprint:   Oxford University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 12.90cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 19.60cm
Weight:   0.306kg
ISBN:  

9780199551026

ISBN 10:   0199551022
Pages:   288
Publication Date:   11 September 2008
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   In Print  
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.

Table of Contents

FOOD AND DRINK; Of messes in pots; Sugar and spice and all things nice; Skilligalee and boiled babies; Fruits of grain and grape; Below-stairs life; HEALTH AND MEDICINE; Potions and curatives; Caudles, cordials, and possets; The parlance of physicians; Diseases and conditions; ENTERTAINMENT AND LEISURE; Games with cards; Games with things; Outdoor games; Invitation to a dance; The Food of Love; Of thimbleriggers and joculators; Natural Magic; TRANSPORT AND FASHION; Your carriage awaits; Ruffs and cuffs and farthingales and things; Cloth of Ages; Wigs on the green; Get ahead, get a hat; NAMES, EMPLOYMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS; What's in a name?; Obscure occupations; The long and the short of it; Can you hear me, mother?; Going, going ... gone?; EPILOGUE; Words that never made it; INDEX OF FEATURED WORDS

Reviews

Michael Quinion, word scholar par excellence, provides an entertaining and informative look at many wonderful words and phrases that have mostly gone by the boards. --Daniel Boice, Catholic Library World<br>

Michael Quinion, word scholar par excellence, provides an entertaining and informative look at many wonderful words and phrases that have mostly gone by the boards. --Daniel Boice, Catholic Library World Michael Quinion, word scholar par excellence, provides an entertaining and informative look at many wonderful words and phrases that have mostly gone by the boards. --Daniel Boice, Catholic Library World

"""Michael Quinion, word scholar par excellence, provides an entertaining and informative look at many wonderful words and phrases that have mostly gone by the boards.""--Daniel Boice, Catholic Library World ""Michael Quinion, word scholar par excellence, provides an entertaining and informative look at many wonderful words and phrases that have mostly gone by the boards.""--Daniel Boice, Catholic Library World"

Author Information

Michael Quinion is a professional writer who has published widely on the English language. He was a co-author of the second edition of the Oxford Dictionary of New Words.

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