Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban LegendsOxford University Press, USA, 2 déc. 2004 - 221 pages 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 so, you need this book. David Wilton debunks the most persistently wrong word histories, and gives, to the best of our actual knowledge, the real stories behind these perennially mis-etymologized words.In addition, he explains why these wrong stories are created, disseminated, and persist, even after being corrected time and time again. What makes us cling to these stories, when the truth behind these words and phrases is available, for the most part, at any library or on the Internet?Arranged by chapters, this book avoids a dry A-Z format. Chapters separate misetymologies by kind, including The Perils of Political Correctness (picnics have nothing to do with lynchings), Posh, Phat Pommies (the problems of bacronyming--the desire to make every word into an acronym), and CANOE (which stands for the Conspiracy to Attribute Nautical Origins to Everything).Word Myths corrects long-held and far-flung examples of wrong etymologies, without taking the fun out of etymology itself. It's the best of both worlds: not only do you learn the many wrong stories behind these words, you also learn why and how they are created--and what the real story is. |
Table des matières
Introduction | 1 |
1 Debunking the Big Boys | 23 |
2 The Elizabethan Email Hoax | 61 |
3 Posh Phat Pommies | 79 |
4 Canoe | 103 |
5 Hookers Harlots and Condoms | 129 |
6 The Perils of Political Correctness | 155 |
7 Wax Tadpoles and Jelly Doughnuts | 185 |
Conclusion | 198 |
201 | |
Selected Annotated Bibliography | 217 |
219 | |
Autres éditions - Tout afficher
Expressions et termes fréquents
abbreviation accessed 21 July acronymic origin ADS-L alleged alt.folklore.urban American Language appears associated AWOL backronym balls Barry Popik Berlin called Car Talk century chapter Chevrolet Nova citation Civil claim Coca-Cola common Condom crap dates debunking dialect Dictionary Dixie e-mail early Elizabethan English eponymous etymology evidence example explanation fact false etymologies Flynn folklore French fuck Gerald Cohen googol H. L. Mencken harlot HDAS hoax Hooker hot dog Indian jazz Jim Crow jimmies known large number last accessed 21 letters linguistic legends linguistic urban legends Lynch marketing meaning monkey myth Native American nautical origin newspaper OED2 picnic pluck yew politically correct popular posh probably real McCoy recorded reference rhyme sense ship simply slang sometimes speech spelling story tale tell term Thomas Crapper tion translation trench mouth true truth Usenet verb whole nine yards Windy City words and phrases words for snow