Synopses & Reviews
Did you know that an assassin is a hashish-eater and a yokel a country woodpecker? That Dr Mesmer mesmerized patients back to health or that Samuel Pepys enjoyed a good game of handicap? While we're at it, what have spondulics to do with spines or lawyers with avocados? Here Albert Jack collects more than 500 of the strangest, funniest-sounding, and most delightful words in the English language, and traces them back to their often puzzling origins. While brushing up on your gibberish or gobbledygook, discover why bastards should resent traveling salesmen, why sheets should remain on tenterhooks, and why you should never set down a tumbler before finishing your drink. From blotto to bamboozle and from claptrap to quango, Albert Jack's addictive anecdotes bring the world's most colorful language to life and are guaranteed to surprise and entertain.
About the Author
ALBERT JACK is a writer and historian. His first book, Red Herrings and White Elephants, explored the origins of well-known phrases; an international bestseller, it was serialised by the Sunday Times for over a year. He followed up this success with a series of bestsellers including Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep and Pop Goes the Weasel, a book exploring the dark histories and little-known meanings behind nursery rhymes. Fascinated by discovering the truth behind the world's great stories, Albert has become an expert in explaining the unexplained. He is now a veteran of hundreds of live television shows and thousands of radio appearances worldwide. He divides his time between Guildford and Cape Town.