From aardvark to zenzizenzizenzic, Word Drops collects a thousand obscure words and language facts in one fascinating chain of word associations. Did you know, for example, that scandal derives from the Latin for “stumbling block” and originally described a trap for a wild animal? In nineteenth-century slang a wolf trap was a corrupt casino. Casino means “little house” in Italian. Roulette means “little wheel” in French. A wheeler is someone who attends auctions to bid on items merely to increase their sale price. Such links take readers on an unexpected journey through linguistic oddities. Inspired by the popular @HaggardHawks Twitter account, Word Drops also uses an intriguing series of annotations to add background and historical context on everything from Anglo-Saxon cures for insanity to Samuel Pepys’s cure for a hangover. This unique book will delight anyone who loves language, etymology, and word games. Not for sale in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, or Canada

From aardvark to zenzizenzizenzic, Word Drops collects a thousand obscure words and language facts in one fascinating chain of word associations. Did you know, for example, that scandal derives from the Latin for "stumbling block" and originally described a trap for a wild animal? In nineteenth-century slang a wolf trap was a corrupt casino. Casino means "little house" in Italian. Roulette means "little wheel" in French. A wheeler is someone who attends auctions to bid on items merely to increase their sale price. Such links take readers on an unexpected journey through linguistic oddities. Inspired by the popular @HaggardHawks Twitter account, Word Drops also uses an intriguing series of annotations to add background and historical context on everything from Anglo-Saxon cures for insanity to Samuel Pepys's cure for a hangover. This unique book will delight anyone who loves language, etymology, and word games. Not for sale in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, or Canada

Help upper-grade students read and understand multisyllabic words and morphemes, build vocabulary, and learn spelling strategies with this comprehensive classroom supplement. Lessons cover what to teach, how to teach, and when to teach the Working with Words Block in fourth-grade classrooms. It also fully supports the Four-Blocks® Literacy Model.

On a hot day in July 1919, five black youths went swimming in Lake Michigan, unintentionally floating close to the "white" beach. An angry white man began throwing stones at the boys, striking and killing one. Racial conflict on the beach erupted into days of urban violence that shook the city of Chicago to its foundations. This mesmerizing narrative draws on contemporary accounts as it traces the roots of the explosion that had been building for decades in race relations, politics, business, and clashes of culture. Archival photos and prints, source notes, bibliography, index.

A beautiful and irresistible collection of trivia for wordsmiths and lovers of language -The former Greek currency, the drachma, literally means "handful." -The "bowl" formed by cupping your hands is called a gowpen; the amount it holds is called ayepsen. -The earliest known reference to a bowling alley dates from 1555. -During the First World War, Germans were nicknamed Alleymen. -In Navajo, Germany is called Bééch Bich'ahii Bikéyah—or "metal cap-wearer land." Word Drops is an intriguing and surprising compendium of 1000 facts about words, language, and etymology. Leading us through a smattering of unexpected connections and weird juxtapositions, Paul Anthony Jones reveals facts and tidbits about words that reveal much, too, about cultures and histories around the world. Each "drop" leads in some way to the next; and many are enhanced by discursive and entertaining footnotes, taking the reader off into wild flights of fancy about Tudor England, for example, before leading on to World War I and the Navajo language. This is an immensely pleasurable and unpredictable collection that is guaranteed to raise eyebrows (the literal meaning, incidentally, of supercilious).