"A brash, enlightening, and wildly entertaining feminist look at gendered language and the way it shapes us..."--From dust jacket, front flap.

Defines or explains various words commonly associated with Valentine's Day, such as "Cupid," "heart," and "romance," and gives their origin or historical background.

"Words have fascinating stories to tell - about the history and culture of their speakers, about the human mind and human creativity, and about the power of language. This course explores the history of English words, tracing back a number of common and uncommon words and phrases through history to get to their origins"--Taken from course scope.

Language is always changing-- but we tend not to like it. We understand that new words must be created for new things, but the way English is spoken today rubs many of us the wrong way, and it often seems as if the language is deteriorating before our eyes. McWhorter shows how English has always been in motion and continues to evolve today. These shifts are a natural process common to all languages, and McWhorter shows that our lives are all the richer...

"Peter Winceworth, a disaffected Victorian lexicographer, inserts false entries into a dictionary - violating and subverting the dictionary's authority - in an attempt to assert some sense of individual purpose and artistic freedom. In the present day, Mallory, a young overworked and underpaid intern employed by the dictionary's publishing house, is tasked with uncovering these entries before the work is digitised. As the novel progresses and their...