Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
414th out of 1,421 books
—
1,326 voters
Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends
Do you "know" that posh comes from an acronym meaning "port out, starboard home"? That "the whole nine yards" comes from (pick one) the length of a WWII gunner's belt; the amount of fabric needed to make a kilt; a sarcastic football expression? That Chicago is called "The Windy City" because of the bloviating habits of its politicians, and not the breeze off the lake?
If s...more
If s...more
Hardcover, 240 pages
Published
December 1st 2004
by Oxford University Press, USA
(first published 2004)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
381)
I majored in Linguistics in college. It has always amazed me how gullible people can be when it comes to language. When someone gets an e-mail promising some incredible stock tip or anatomical enhancement they will automatically dismiss it as ridiculous and delete it. However, when that same person gets an e-mail or is told a story by a friend that purports some crazy fairytale about where a word or phrase comes from they seem to instantly believe it. This book does a great job of debunking many...more
Did you ever think that "Ring Around the Rosie" makes reference to the Black Death of the Middle Ages? Or that "the whole nine yards" refers to the length of a machine gun's ammo belt on a WWII fighter plane? Or perhaps that Eskimos have 500 words for snow? If so, then you have been taken in by a linguistic urban legend. Like classic urban legends, these linguistic legends are popular and pervasive. But instead of propagating cautionary tales about the dangers of modern life, linguistic urban fo...more
Did you hear the one about "Ring around the Rosie"? How it's about the Black Plague. Only, that's not entirely accurate as Wilton shows in "Word Myths". He spends some time taking apart words and phrases that have acquired histories, which upon closer look are more myth than fact.
I saw this pop up in my Goodreads feed from one of my friends and thought it sounded interesting. I picked up a used copy from my local independent bookstore and threw it in the carry-on for my flight. I have been on a...more
I saw this pop up in my Goodreads feed from one of my friends and thought it sounded interesting. I picked up a used copy from my local independent bookstore and threw it in the carry-on for my flight. I have been on a...more
Being a librarian, I was intrigued by the author's description of how etymological research is done.
The scholarship seems solid, but the presentation is surprisingly dull. Here is an outline:
* Debunking the big boys: ring around the rosie, OK, the whole nine yards, rule of thumb, hot dog, windy city, eskimo words for snow, elizabethan english in the appalachians
* The Elizabethan e-mail hoax
* Faux-acronyms (POSH, GOLF etc.)
* False nautical etymologies (CANOE - the conspiracy to attribute nautical origins to everything)
* Vulgar stuff: hookers, harlots, condoms, crappers, pumpernickel
* Political...more
* Debunking the big boys: ring around the rosie, OK, the whole nine yards, rule of thumb, hot dog, windy city, eskimo words for snow, elizabethan english in the appalachians
* The Elizabethan e-mail hoax
* Faux-acronyms (POSH, GOLF etc.)
* False nautical etymologies (CANOE - the conspiracy to attribute nautical origins to everything)
* Vulgar stuff: hookers, harlots, condoms, crappers, pumpernickel
* Political...more
Mar 22, 2011
Caitlin
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Those with an interest in linguistics or linguistic anthropology.
Shelves:
non-fiction
The content of this book, I would rate as a four; the quality of writing is a two.
The writer really should have used a good ghostwriter for this one. I'm guessing that he wanted to sound authoritative to his readership (thus able to win their trust when he debunks these very well believed legends). He really missed the point that writing the book is enough for half the population to blindly follow your every word (which should have been blatantly obvious considering some of his research), and t...more
The writer really should have used a good ghostwriter for this one. I'm guessing that he wanted to sound authoritative to his readership (thus able to win their trust when he debunks these very well believed legends). He really missed the point that writing the book is enough for half the population to blindly follow your every word (which should have been blatantly obvious considering some of his research), and t...more
With a passion for linguistics, this was a book I was very excited to read and wasn't disappointed when I did. Learning about the various sayings we use on a daily basis but have no idea where they came from was great! Wilton isn't afraid to say "I don't know," a characteristic to be admired. Very interesting.
Most of the book was fairly interesting, but nothing amazing. Wilton spent most of time debunking the legends, and very little time on what I wanted most to know - where those words/phrases actually DID come from. Most often, the answer was, "The legend is probably wrong - we can't prove that it's correct, in any case... but we don't actually know where the phrase comes from, anyway." That was rather disappointing.
Also, I was annoyed that he spent long sections on the etymology of various swear...more
Also, I was annoyed that he spent long sections on the etymology of various swear...more
Not one of those you'd want to sit down and read cover to cover, but very useful for leaving in the bathroom so you've got something to do while drying your hair.
This is a spoil-sports game, but this author does a decent job of deflating the balloon without ruining the party. I feel slightly smarter after reading this.
Yes, accuracy is a good thing. But who wants all their favorite myths debunked?
"Overly academic & long-winded, but had some fun nuggets. Skimmed it quickly."
It is an interesting book about words and phrases that are urban legends. There are some great thoughts.
10,000 words for snow?...not quite.
Dry. The cover of this book is the most fun you'll have, unfortunately, but don't let that turn you off entirely if you're truly interested in debunking etymology myths. There are some great facts in this books and I feel better educated in a subject I am casually interested in for having read it. I did find myself skimming quite a bit, though, the further I got into it.
Great book on setting straight many urban legends on word origins, and other mis-uses of language. It's a large collection of short essays on many popular word myths such as Eskimos have 500 words for snow, Ring-a-Round-a-Rosie and many other things that turn out to be more about stories people like to tell than actual truths.
It's a good book, great to read in short stretches. Any more than that and I might get tired of it.
It's a good book, great to read in short stretches. Any more than that and I might get tired of it.
As with most books of this ilk that I read, the content was interesting but the writing didn't thrill me. It was surprisingly dull.
A little dry, but fun nonetheless.
There is more debunking incorrect etymologies than proving true ones, but that is to be expected from the title and description.
It seems a bit dry for a book aimed at the laity but not nearly scholarly enough for something aimed at a professional audience. But it does contain citations, which is refreshing since they're often left out for "pop culture" type books.
There is more debunking incorrect etymologies than proving true ones, but that is to be expected from the title and description.
It seems a bit dry for a book aimed at the laity but not nearly scholarly enough for something aimed at a professional audience. But it does contain citations, which is refreshing since they're often left out for "pop culture" type books.
Interesting but I did skim through much of the detailed (boring) scholarly text.
The book doesn't go into great depth for each entry, but it includes the pertinent information in an entertaining manner.
While this had a lot of interesting information (the chapter on debunking the Elizabethan Age Email was my favorite), what this book mostly did is tell you where language ledgends didn't come from.
I think a person could take it or leave it. I shoulda left it.
I think a person could take it or leave it. I shoulda left it.
Sep 13, 2012
BoekenTrol
marked it as not_read_only_released
Recommends it for:
noname-blue
Recommended to BoekenTrol by:
Vasha
I kept this book for a while, hoping to be able to read it before sending it on.
I did not have the time for it yet and I will not be able to read it anytime soon. So, to fulfill the last part of my 1001-RABCK for Vasha, this book is going on to the next reader.
I did not have the time for it yet and I will not be able to read it anytime soon. So, to fulfill the last part of my 1001-RABCK for Vasha, this book is going on to the next reader.
Awful book. Poorly researched, badly written, devoid of any scholarly merit. Maybe, if you absolutely must read something for a couple of minutes in the bathroom, read this. Otherwise, don't waste the money or the energy.
Fascinating debunking of some stories about words like "ok" and "crap".
Not only are the debunked myths amusing, but the true stories are often quite fun, too. On top of that, it has a few insights on legend formation and general etymology techniques.
I really liked this book, and thought it was well-researched and written. Some of the myths I have heard before, some I hadn't, and some were myths I had told my Spanish students!
Mar 17, 2012
Tori
added it
2012- I've certainly read better "word origin" books before, but this one did debunk some common myths.
Jun 14, 2013
Emma Dejonge
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Dave Wilton is an independent researcher in historical linguistics, etymology, and slang origins. He is the author of Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends (Oxford Univ. Press, 2004). He is also the author of two recent articles in Verbatim magazine: A Hoagie By Any Other Name, on the various names for the sandwich (XXVIII/3, Autumn 2003) and Journols Boffo Lingo: The Slang of Daily Varie...more
More about David Wilton...
Share This Book
1 trivia question
More quizzes & trivia...
