Interesting Stories about Curious Words : From Stealing Thunder to Red Herrings

by Dent, Susie | Language
Published 28/09/2023 by John Murray Press (John Murray Publishers Ltd) in the United Kingdom
Hardback | 432 pages
141 x 224 x 36mm | 536g

Join Susie Dent, lexicographer extraordinaire and Queen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner, on a curious and exceedingly interesting adventure through all the very best RED HERRINGS, COCK AND BULL STORIES and NINE-DAY WONDERS in the English language.

Who was SWEET FANNY ADAMS? What's the dramatic true story behind STEALING THUNDER? Why is it CHANCING YOUR ARM when you take a risk? What do bears have to do with LICKING INTO SHAPE? Or robbers with PULLING SOMEONE'S LEG? Why are CIRCLES VICIOUS? And, what's so bad about a WHITE ELEPHANT? 'Nobody on earth knows more about the English language than Susie Dent' Gyles Brandreth