Word Mysteries and Histories: From Quiche to Humble Pie

by American Heritage Publishing Company (Illustrator), Robert Claiborne (Forword Author), American Heritage (Editor)

Describes the meanings of hundreds of words and phrases, and traces the history of these items back to their origins

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Language

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[James S.]

Misleading title. There are very few word mysteries here of any kind. In fact, there are basically none. Instead you get a list of words with slightly quirky etymologies. This must have been some kind of filler book for Houghton Mifflin to give away as a bonus gift if you bought a set of dictionaries or something.

[Beth]

I’m sorry but I just couldn’t get through this book. I love to learn about the origins of words but this book is laid out like a dictionary. The facts given are flat and boring. I feel there had to be a better layout for this book. What looked interesting became boring very quickly. I gave it several days but it just didn’t hold my interest.

[Michael Oaks]

Full of tasty morsels of etymology, I was entertained and edified at the same time.

[Velma]

Clever collection of amusing etymologies accompanied by Barry Moser's lovely woodcuts: what more could a word nerd want?

[Bmankiewicz]

Inscribed from Sarah 1989. Intact. Pages yellowed. Faded writing of r. Claiborne on the spine. Proposes returning it to Sarah.