Hog on Ice
By (Author) Charles Earle Funk
HarperCollins Publishers Inc
HarperCollins
7th March 2003
United States
General
Non Fiction
Language: reference and general
428.1
Paperback
224
180g
From mad as a wet hen to corn dodger and hobgoblin, Charles Funks collections of curious words and expressions are a treasure trove of word origin.
Where did expressions like this come from anyway
Now finally well know what letting the cat out of the bag or going on wild-goose chase refers to. In this fun collection of over 400 curious expressions and sayings, Dr. Funk explains the meanings that we use in everyday speech without even thinking about it. He has traced them back through the years-in some cases centuries-in an effort to determine their sources, to find out what the original allusions were, or, at the very least, to give us his expert opinion when facts cannot be traced.
Charles Earle Funk was editor in chief of the Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary Series. He wrote several other books on word and phrase origins, including Horsefeathers, Heavens to Betsy!, and Thereby Hangs a Tale.