- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (6 Nov 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0195375572
- ISBN-13: 978-0195375572
- Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 13.6 x 1.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,241,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Do you "know" that posh comes from an acronym meaning "port out, starboard home"? That "the whole nine yards" comes from (pick one) the length of a WWII gunner's belt; the amount of fabric needed to make a kilt; a sarcastic football expression? That Chicago is called "The Windy City" because of the bloviating habits of its politicians, and not the breeze off the lake? If so, you need this book. David Wilton debunks the most persistently wrong word histories, and gives, to the best of our actual knowledge, the real stories behind these perennially mis-etymologized words. In addition, he explains why these wrong stories are created, disseminated, and persist, even after being corrected time and time again. What makes us cling to these stories, when the truth behind these words and phrases is available, for the most part, at any library or on the Internet? Arranged by chapters, this book avoids a dry A-Z format. Chapters separate misetymologies by kind, including The Perils of Political Correctness (picnics have nothing to do with lynchings), Posh, Phat Pommies (the problems of bacronyming--the desire to make every word into an acronym), and CANOE (which stands for the Conspiracy to Attribute Nautical Origins to Everything). Word Myths corrects long-held and far-flung examples of wrong etymologies, without taking the fun out of etymology itself. It's the best of both worlds: not only do you learn the many wrong stories behind these words, you also learn why and how they are created--and what the real story is.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
About the Author
David Wilton, a writer, lives in California. He runs the popular website Wordorigins.com.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Inside This Book
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Dave Wilton gets it right with his new book, "Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends." His style is that of a friendly academic, and his research is thorough and well documented. His appreciation of American history is shows through his descriptions of word origins. I learned something from every page.
The categorization of specific word histories within different chapters is never an easy task - sometimes we see alphabetical (logical but unrewarding), and other times we see topical (entirely subjective, and therefore often misunderstood and difficult to navigate). Wilton's book has an easily understood chapter organization, which is complemented by with an Table of contents worthy of engineering textbook. I know what I'm getting before I go there.
This is an enjoyable read. His style is like having a conversation awith an expert - a great experience.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
More of a text than an amusing read - popular sayings and phrases are systematically 'debunked' and as the author admits, this is something of a 'spoilsports' attitude. A preponderance of American items. The basis for debunking is quite often based on elimination of probables, and does not allow for the amusing theories of origin to resist and survive the process of examination. Disappointed reader.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
19 reviews
44 of 46 people found the following review helpful
What's in a metro myth?
27 Dec 2004
Format:Hardcover
This book deserves a wide reading. Its central lesson, as that of the more popular series on urban legends, is this: Don't believe everything you hear (or see) regarding the origins of words and phrases. I learned from this book that there were (a) false origins; things I thought I knew but didn't; (b) words whose origin I correctly understood, but about which others are mistaken, and (c) words whose origins I didn't know (and was thus unaware that others held false opinions about). Both humbling and instructive is category (a). Included here for me is "Ring around the Rosie," which I have read in countless reputable texts started its career as a sort of macabre humor for children singing and dancing their way through Europe's 14th century plague. And, equally unsettling, was the realization that the Chevy "NOVA" was not a botched marketing campaign by GM in Mexico, and that a guy named Crapper did not in fact invent the toilets we daily flush. At least, I got "google" right. This is a well-written, easily digested romp through the history of words misunderstood by many. It underscores the continuing importance of scepticism, perhaps especially in this, the information age.
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Some surprising revelations about word histories
23 Oct 2005
Format:Hardcover
Word Myths, as its title suggests, is in the debunking business. Mr. Wilton populates this book with popular explanations for the origin of common words and phrases which turn out to be wrong.
For example, he argues that "SOS" never stood for anything like Save Our Ship or Save Our Souls -- "SOS", as it turns out, was just easy to tap out in Morse Code.
Another example: he demonstrates that Coca Cola never translated the name for their trademark drink as "bite the wax tadpole" in China.
I learned quite a few etymologies reading through this book. It's carefully researched and thoughtfully organized.
If I have one criticism of the book, it's that some of the explanations drag on for much longer than they need to. Where Mr. Wilton faced a decision between academic completeness and a brief witticism, he too often decided on the former. This is a book that begs to be written playfully (the cartoons which open each chapter set the visual tone perfectly), but for some reason just isn't.
Still, the book is worth a quick read to discover that the things you thought you knew turn out to be, as the author calls them, linguistic urban legends.
For example, he argues that "SOS" never stood for anything like Save Our Ship or Save Our Souls -- "SOS", as it turns out, was just easy to tap out in Morse Code.
Another example: he demonstrates that Coca Cola never translated the name for their trademark drink as "bite the wax tadpole" in China.
I learned quite a few etymologies reading through this book. It's carefully researched and thoughtfully organized.
If I have one criticism of the book, it's that some of the explanations drag on for much longer than they need to. Where Mr. Wilton faced a decision between academic completeness and a brief witticism, he too often decided on the former. This is a book that begs to be written playfully (the cartoons which open each chapter set the visual tone perfectly), but for some reason just isn't.
Still, the book is worth a quick read to discover that the things you thought you knew turn out to be, as the author calls them, linguistic urban legends.
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
I was surpirsed how many I knew - incorrectly
3 May 2005
Format:Hardcover
We have all heard stories of where different words and phrases originated. Some are quite fascinating and most are at least somewhat logical. The problem is that many of these legends are simply wrong. With a long list of word myths that include "dirt poor", "devil to pay", "under the weather", "real McCoy", "squaw", and "kangaroo" it is a fascinating read that not only debunks the traditional myths but also, where possible, supplies the correct origin of the word or phrase. Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends is hard to put down once you get started and thoroughly entertaining from beginning to end - highly recommended.
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