{ "item_title" : "The Illustrated Etymologicon", "item_author" : [" Mark Forsyth "], "item_description" : "A NEW, BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED HARDBACK EDITION OF THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER, PUBLISHED ON ITS TENTH ANNIVERSARY.'Witty and erudite ... stuffed with the kind of arcane information that nobody strictly needs to know, but which is a pleasure to learn nonetheless.' Nick Duerden, Independent.'Particularly good ... Forsyth takes words and draws us into their, and our, murky history.' William Leith, Evening Standard. The Etymologicon is an occasionally ribald, frequently witty and unerringly erudite guided tour of the secret labyrinth that lurks beneath the English language. What is the actual connection between disgruntled and gruntled? What links church organs to organised crime, California to the Caliphate, or brackets to codpieces? Mark Forsyth's riotous celebration of the idiosyncratic and sometimes absurd connections between words is a classic of its kind: a mine of fascinating information and a must-read for word-lovers everywhere. 'Highly recommended' Spectator", "item_img_path" : "https://covers3.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/1/78/578/785/1785787853_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "29.99", "online_price" : "29.99", "our_price" : "29.99", "club_price" : "29.99", "savings_pct" : "0", "savings_amt" : "0.00", "club_savings_pct" : "0", "club_savings_amt" : "0.00", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "" } }

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For the language geeks of the world, of whose ranks I am a lifetime member, The Illustrated Etymologicon is a curious journey through time, with its ears and eyes trained on the way life gets translated into words. Author Mark Forsyth first made his name with a blog called The Inky Fool, and The Etymologicon followed, became a hit, etc. This new version is gussied up with typography presented as art- and collage-like illustrations. The organization here is associative, with fart, for example, leading us to peter out, which may come from the French verb peter, to fart. From there we’re on to fizzle out, feisty and even partridge. Want to go deep on the origins of the name Starbucks? Forsyth will take you all the way to the Vikings. It’s all quite dizzying, and often funny in a rather British sort of way.