Language: History & General Works

''If you''re up for an adventure through the back alleys of English, The Stories of Slang will not disappoint.'' Kory Stamper, Times Literary Suppl...

How did the delphinium get its name? Which parts of the body lend their names to auriculas and orchids? Who are the gentian, lobelia and heuchera n...

Were often told that swearing is outrageous or even offensive, that its a sign of a stunted vocabulary or a limited intellect. Dictionaries have tr...

The Golden Thread is an enthralling and accessible history of the cultural miracle that is the written word. It is an invention that has been used ...

Fish mines cultural touchstones from Milton to 'Married with Children' to explain how various types of arguments are structured and how that unders...

Latin continued to be used across Europe long after the end of the Roman Empire. This collection considers key issues arising from the use of Latin...

On the eve of his 100th birthday, Dr Mavis P Kelsey shares a generous collection of sayings from his homeland. What began as an enjoyable hobby and...

Revealing the history behind words from Hoover to Sandwich and Wellington Boots to the Biro, this guide to eponyms is full of surprises.What's in a...

Discover words to surprise, delight and enamor. Learn terms for the sunlight that filters through the leaves of trees, for dancing awkwardly but wi...

FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER THE ETYMOLOGICON.'Reading The Horologicon in one sitting is very tempting' Roland White, ...

In recent decades the contested areas of English usage have grown both larger and more numerous. We may argue rather less frequently than was once ...

'Kudos should go to Mr Forsyth ... Clearly a man who knows his onions.' Daily Telegraph'Forsyth takes words and draws us into their, and our murky ...

WINNER OF THE MILES FRANKLIN AWARD 2020 An exquisitely written, heartbreaking and hopeful novel of culture, language, tradition, sufferin...