Thereby Hangs a Tale

(Paperback)

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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.

In a language where hearse and rehearse have the same root and the word dunce comes from a great philosopher, English has hundreds of everyday words that originated or acquired their meanings in unusual ways. Dictionaries dont have the space to tell us all the mysteries but now Dr. Funk, with humor and insight, tells us the strange and intriguing stories of hundreds of words and how they came to be a part of our language.

Author Bio

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.