Interesting Stories about Curious Words PDF Download

Author: Susie Dent
Publisher: John Murray
ISBN: 139981169X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
Join Susie Dent, lexicographer extraordinaire and Queen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner, on a curious and exceedingly interesting adventure through all the very best RED HERRINGS, COCK AND BULL STORIES and NINE-DAY WONDERS in the English language. Who was SWEET FANNY ADAMS? What's the dramatic true story behind STEALING THUNDER? Why is it CHANCING YOUR ARM when you take a risk? What do bears have to do with LICKING INTO SHAPE? Or robbers with PULLING SOMEONE'S LEG? Why are CIRCLES VICIOUS? And, what's so bad about a WHITE ELEPHANT? 'Nobody on earth knows more about the English language than Susie Dent' Gyles Brandreth

Author: Susie Dent
Publisher: John Murray
ISBN: 1529311500
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
'Susie Dent is a one-off. She breathes life and fun into words and language' Pam Ayres 'Susie Dent is a national treasure' Richard Osman Welcome to a year of wonder with Susie Dent, lexicographer, logophile, and longtime queen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner. From the real Jack the Lad to the theatrically literal story behind stealing someone's thunder, from tartle (forgetting someone's name at the very moment you need it) to snaccident (the unintentional eating of an entire packet of biscuits), WORD PERFECT is a brilliant linguistic almanac full of unforgettable stories, fascinating facts, and surprising etymologies tied to every day of the year. You'll never be lost for words again.

Author: Bill O'Neill
Publisher: Lak Publishing
ISBN: 9781648450815
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 142

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Book Description
Want to impress your buddies at school? Need to think of something fun to do at Thanksgiving or Christmas? Want to learn a bunch of random facts about history, science, and the paranormal?#If you answered yes to any or all of those questions then pick up Interesting Stories for Curious Kids: A Fascinating Collection of the Most Interesting, Unbelievable, and Craziest Stories on Earth! This book is the coolest collection of interesting facts about a whole bunch of several different topics. Here you will find the answers to some of the following:- How did a dog, a horse, and a cat become TV and movie stars?- What were the first video game consoles?- Why can't you break an egg in the palm of your hand?- How do parrots talk?- Did Alexander the Great love his horse more than anything else?And much, much more!You'll be glued to the pages of this book reading about interesting facts, scary stories, and how to do a few neat science experiments. Interesting Stories for Curious Kids brings learning to you in a new, fun way that is sure to keep you reading.Parents, this book is a perfect tool to keep your kids reading in the summer or winter breaks, when they've put the books aside and are more interested in other things. There's a bit of everything in here for tweens, so I guarantee that it'll keep their mind sharp even during the summer doldrums. Whether science, history, or just weird facts are your thing, you're sure to find something in here that will keep you interested and turning the pages. So open this book and your mind and see other things that you may not know existed.

Author: Charles Earle Funk
Publisher: Read Books Ltd
ISBN: 1447495853
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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Book Description
THIS book is the outcome of a collection of material that has been slowly accumulating over the past thirty years or so, since the time when, under the guidance of the late Dr. Frank H. Vizetelly, I began to work as his associate in the editorial department of the Funk & Wagnalls New Standard Dictionary. The ancestry of most of the words that we now use glibly or find in books or other current literature, is prosaic. We can trace their lines of descent back to Old English, or Old French, or Latin, or Greek, or other ancient source, but beyond the bare bones supplied by etymologists, which indicate those sources, and the steps by which they became English words, the dictionaries tell us little—for there is little more that can be told. The ancient Roman or Greek, say, who may have been the first to use a word that has strayed on to us, perhaps could have told the story of its origin. It may have been picturesque, based upon some historic episode, like the word anecdote; it may have come from a tale in some older language, for the languages that we consider ancient were themselves based upon still more ancient sources, but that story, if any, cannot now be determined. Thus what we know about the origins of the great majority of the words in our present language can be found in an unabridged dictionary or in a work dealing with etymologies, such as that compiled by W. W. Skeat about seventy years ago, or the one more recently prepared by Ernest Weekley.

Author: Bill O'Neill
Publisher: Lak Publishing
ISBN: 9781648450778
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
Want to impress your coworkers at your next happy hour? Need to think of something interesting to do at the next family gathering? Want to learn a bunch of random facts about history, science, true crime, and the paranormal? Pick up Interesting Stories for Curious People 2, your ultimate source of interesting facts about a wide range of diverse topics. This book is truly a quick read packed with information from cover to cover. Here you will find out:- Was martial arts expert and action film star Bruce Lee the victim of a curse?- How did the guillotine become France's execution method?- What is the Mokele-mbeme? - Did famous American bank robber John Dillinger survive his shootout with the FBI?- Do some people have a natural immunity to HIV/AIDs?Interesting Stories for Curious People 2 is not some boring book packed with useless facts, but is an engaging reference guide that brings to life some of the strangest and most fascinating aspects of our planet, and beyond! The book is designed for the busy person, so you can pick up it at your convenience, read a quick story, and then go about your business. Whether you just like to learn new things that aren't normally taught in school, of if you're honing your skills for trivia challenges, you'll definitely find this book entertaining and useful. Some of these stories are ripped from the headlines, while others come from the history books, and some are just weird, but you're sure to find plenty in here that will keep you reading!

Author: Kory Stamper
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 110197026X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
“We think of English as a fortress to be defended, but a better analogy is to think of English as a child. We love and nurture it into being, and once it gains gross motor skills, it starts going exactly where we don’t want it to go: it heads right for the goddamned electrical sockets.” With wit and irreverence, lexicographer Kory Stamper cracks open the obsessive world of dictionary writing, from the agonizing decisions about what to define and how to do it to the knotty questions of ever-changing word usage. Filled with fun facts—for example, the first documented usage of “OMG” was in a letter to Winston Churchill—and Stamper’s own stories from the linguistic front lines (including how she became America’s foremost “irregardless” apologist, despite loathing the word), Word by Word is an endlessly entertaining look at the wonderful complexities and eccentricities of the English language.

Author: Susie Dent
Publisher: Scholastic UK
ISBN: 1407138693
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
A funny and entertaining way to discover more about the history and meaning of language. SUSIE DENT'S WEIRD WORDS takes children on a rip-roaring tour through some of the most astonishing and sometimes quite revolting origins of English words. As Susie Dent knows, even the most ordinary-sounding word can have the most extraordinary story behind it.

Author: Stacey Abrams
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0063209497
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 36

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Book Description
#1 New York Times bestseller and NAACP Image Award winner! The debut picture book from iconic voting rights advocate and bestselling author Stacey Abrams is an inspiring tale of determination, based on her own childhood. Stacey is a little girl who loves words more than anything. She loves reading them, sounding them out, and finding comfort in them when things are hard. But when her teacher chooses her to compete in the local spelling bee, she isn’t as excited as she thought she’d be. What if she messes up? Or worse, if she can’t bring herself to speak up, like sometimes happens when facing bullies at school? Stacey will learn that win or lose . . . her words are powerful, and sometimes perseverance is the most important word of all. Plus don't miss the follow-up from the same team, Stacey's Remarkable Books!

Author: H. A. Rey
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 0547505744
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 27

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Book Description
Curious George is helping Professor Wiseman train for a race, but she thinks running is boring. Can George find a way to show her that running is fun before the big race?

Author: Hudson Talbott
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0399548726
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 21

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Book Description
Winner of a Schneider Family Honor! “A beautifully rendered and deeply inspiring book for everyone who has ever read slowly—myself included! Hudson shows us the beauty and magic that can come from taking our time. Brilliant.”—Jacqueline Woodson Hudson Talbott's inspiring story vividly reveals the challenges--and ultimately the rewards--of being a non-mainstream kind of learner. When Hudson Talbott was a little boy, he loved drawing, and it came naturally to him. But reading? No way! One at a time, words weren't a problem, but long sentences were a struggle. As his friends moved on to thicker books, he kept his slow reading a secret. But that got harder every year. He felt alone, lost, and afraid in a world of too many words. Fortunately, his love of stories wouldn't let him give up. He started giving himself permission to read at his own pace, using the words he knew as stepping-stones to help draw him into a story. And he found he wasn't so alone--in fact, lots of brilliant people were slow readers, too. Learning to accept the fact that everyone does things in their own unique way, and that was okay, freed him up and ultimately helped Hudson thrive and become the fabulous storyteller he is today.