Bookish Words & Their Surprising Stories, David Crystal

Bookish Words & Their Surprising Stories, David CrystalNew Hardback The world of books has played a striking role in the history of English vocabulary. Book itself is one of the oldest words in the language, originating from boc in Old English, and appears in many commonly used expressions today by the book, bring to book and bookworm to name a few. With the arrival of printing, typesetting and the development of the newspaper industry came terminology that developed into commonly used phrases such as

reflecting on mortality and the nuanced ways in which we take leave of our dead

Evelyn Cheesman

Featuring red symbols to indicate where alcohol was sold

it is second only in hardness to a diamond and can be used to make fire

the four adults know the time must come for the secret to emerge

astringent Granny Smith to the purple-skinned Black Diamond of Tibet – only a handful of cultivars are available in modern supermarkets

As the threat of war casts its shadow over them once again

sleep to my heart's content"

Peters asks: how can rugby and other sports save themselves from the vested interests which threaten their very existence

longing to return to England and to education and stability

Green shows the Normans' profound impact

In addition to fine gentry houses and stone-built market towns