Evan Morris

The dust jacket describes this work as “a collection of Morris’s language columns, which appear in newspapers around the world and on his popular Web site. The Q&A format makes for lively and unusual interactions between Morris and his readers. …This little book is chock-full of fascinating lore about the origins and uses of the English language…”

What can I say that isn’t already covered by the dust jacket? It’s more than just a collection, it’s a handy reference tool, covering everything from soup to nuts – well, maybe not everything, but quite a lot, beginning with amok and ending with zarf.

I used to love to read encyclopedias and dictionaries. I’d open a volume to a random page and just start reading. I found it enlightening and relaxing – a great break from (or way to avoid) studying whatever I was supposed to be studying. And what teacher/librarian/parent would scold me for looking something up in the dictionary? Those of us who love language and words will find plenty to delight, intrigue and tickle our fancies (whatever THAT phrase means – it’s not covered in this volume). Still, a little goes a long way, and reading it cover to cover as I did for a challenge meant that I grew bored.
… (mer)

The Word Detective is Evan Morris' newspaper column and web site, devoted to finding out where different words and phrases originate. This book is a collection of his columns, but basically reads like a dictionary of curious sayings.

Morris has a light, humorous tone, which makes reading this book a fun experience. Well, if you read through the book at one sitting, you'll probably get a bit tired of his mock replies, followed by "just kidding, here's the real thing". Still, I like his style.

What comes to the content, the book is indeed a nice collection of strange words and phrases, explained usually in a rather satisfying way. Any etymology fans should definitely read this book, unless they've been closely following Morris' column and web site.

(Original review at my review blog.)… (mer)