Each chapter digs into the origin of a word or phrase, starting with the phrase "a turn up for the books", and exploring it's meaning, it's origin, other words or phrases that share the same origins and wandering around in a sort of a rambling conversation that is interesting, funny, and by chance also educational. However it happened, and whoever said what, the term flying saucer came into being as a result of this event 74 years ago today. I enjoyed this book so much that I went out and bought another two books by this author as soon as I'd finished, and I'm kicking myself for having forgotten as many interesting titbits as I have already. Some of it would be well loved by schoolboys, really, with conclusions about how we're orbiting the sun on a giant testicle. schoolmaster," from Middle French pédant (1560s) or directly from Italian pedante, literally "teacher, schoolmaster," of uncertain origin, apparently an alteration of Late Latin paedagogantem (nominative paedagogans), present participle of paedagogare (see pedagogue).

I admit, I'm a bit geeky, especially when it comes to words or books - and when there's a book about words, I turn from 'a bit geeky' to 'full blown geek mode'. A small windy escape backwards, more obvious to the nose than ears; frequently by old ladies charged [blamed] on their lap-dogs.If I added that the phrases in the buff, looking buff, and buff up were all also short for buffalo, the confusion would not alleviated at all. The Etymologicon swiftly picked up positive early press, not just in the broadsheets but also the nation's leading tabloid.

Well, unless they are caterpillars and butterflies – butterflies even rate a mention in this wonderful and endlessly amusing book. The New York firefighters are, obviously, heroes to the New Yorkers; but they were even more idolised back in the late 19th century. If you had told the Anglo-Saxon subsistence farmer that this was how he would be remembered, he would have been astonished.Etymologicum Magnum ( Ancient Greek: Ἐτυμολογικὸν Μέγα, Ἐtymologikὸn Mέga) (standard abbreviation EM, or Etym. The French word for chicken is poule, which also happens to be the name of a game played by the French during Medieval times. The Illustrated Etymologicon is therefore both illuminating and illuminated, enlightening and enlightened.