Strange Bedfellows: The Private Lives of Words
Strange Bedfellows
The Private Lives of Words
by Howard Richler
$19.95
- Spring 2010
- 6″ x 9″ Trade Paperback, 164 pages
- Language
- Out of print
The English language has never been overly concerned with purity. For centuries it has slept around and been seduced by many foreign influences, indulging in promiscuous relations that have contributed to many alluring word histories. Combining his etymological talents with those of the muck-raking journalist, Howard Richler exposes the often louche baggage that many words have accumulated throughout the centuries.
Discover how “exuberant” used to mean “luxuriantly fertile” and derives originally from “overflowing udders.” Learn how words such as “avocado” and “porcelain” have past associations with some of the nether regions of the body that have been conveniently forgotten by the lovers of fruit and fine china.
With over two hundred select words to uncover, readers will be surprised and delighted by the unexpected liaisons in Strange Bedfellows.
Click here to read an excerpt from Strange Bedfellows.
Reviews:
“An etymological delight.”
—Concordia University Magazine“One of the more delightful books to hit my desk this season. . . . It’s a fascinating, informative, and engrossing book on a great number of words, their origin, original meaning, and for some of them, where the English language has stolen them from. It’s also often amusing, and I find myself still—weeks after getting the book—dipping into it.”
—Joseph Planta, The Commentary“Word nerds rejoice! Howard Richler delivers another riotously funny and informative text. . . .Grade-A cocktail party conversation material.”
—Telegraph-Journal“Richler does a good job making his entries accessible and entertaining.”
—The Rover
