Book Description (in part) The ancestry of most of the words that we now use glibly or find in books or other cur rent literature, is prosaic. We can trace their lines of descent back to Old English, or Old French, or Latin, or Greek, or other ancient source, but beyond the bare bones supplied by etymologists, which indicate those sources, and the steps by which they became English words, the dictionaries tell us little for there is little more that can be told. The ancient Roman or Greek, say, who may have been the first to use a word that has strayed on to us, perhaps could have told the story of its origin. It may have been picturesque, based upon some historic episode, like the word anecdote, it may have come from a tale in some older language, for the languages that we consider ancient were themselves based upon still more ancient sources, but that story, if any, cannot now be determined. Thus what we know about the origins of the great majority of the words In our present language can be found in an unabridged dictionary or in a work dealing with etymologies, such as that compiled by W. W. Skeat about seventy years ago, or the one more recently prepared by Ernest Weekley. But there are in our current language a number of fairly common words some old, some new which were born, or grew, or ac quired their meanings in an unusual manner. They came, as our language has, from all sources sources of which the dictionaries, for lack of space, can rarely supply more than a clue. These are the tales that I have been collecting and which are offered here.

Thereby Hangs a Tale: Stories of Curious Word Origins

Reference

Funk, Charles E.

Words, Language & Grammar

HarperCollins, Publishers

He's as independent as a hog on ice!
Where did expressions like this come from anyway?
Now finally we'll know what "letting the cat out of the bag" or "going on a wild-goose chase" refers to. In this fun collection of more than 400 curious expressions and sayings, Dr. Funk explains the meanings that we use in everyday speech without even thinking about it. He has traced them back through the years -- in some cases centuries -- in an effort to determine their sources, to find out what the original allusions were, or at the very least, to give us his expert opinion when facts cannot be traced.

A Hog on Ice: & Other Curious Expressions

Humor & Entertainment

Puzzles & Games

William Morrow Paperbacks

He's as mad as a hatter!
Whether it's like a bump on a log or a bat out of hell, these expressions have been around forever, but we've never really known why ... until now! Finally Dr. Funk explains more than 400 droll, colorful, and sometimes pungent expressions of everyday speech. Derived from classical sources, historic events, famous literature, frontier humor, and the frailties of humankind, each of these sayings has an interesting story behind its origin.
If you've ever wondered why when you're in a hurry you are told to hold your horses, wonder no more!

Heavens to Betsy!: & Other Curious Sayings

Harper-perennial

Oh, horsefeathers!
If you've ever wondered why the candy is called butterscotch; why a certain southern food is called a hush puppy; why tog supports in a fireplace are known as andirons, or sometimes firedogs, you'll be fascinated by the origins of the more than 600 words discussed in "a book that gets curiouser and curiouser as it goes along" (Son Francisco Chronicle).

Horsefeathers: & Other Curious Words

The Greek root of school means leisure.
A language where hearse and rehearse have the same root and the word dunce comes from a great philosopher, English has hundreds of every day words that originated or acquired their meaning in unusual ways. Dictionaries don't have the space to tell us all the mysteries, but now Dr. Funk, with humor and insight, tells us the strange and intriguing stories of hundreds of words and how they came to be a part of our language.

Thereby Hangs A Tale: Stories of Curious Word Origins

Dr. Funk has taken hundreds of picturesque sayings that we use without thinking in our daily speech and has traced them back through the years to find the original allusions.

A Hog on Ice

Foreign Language Study & Reference

Harper Paperbacks

Horsefeathers and other curious words

Perennial Library,1986, c1958

Heavens to Betsy!: And Other Curious Sayings

Oh, horsefeathers! 
 If you've ever wondered why the candy is called butterscotch; why a certain southern food is called a hush puppy; why tog supports in a fireplace are known as andirons, or sometimes firedogs, you'll be fascinated by the origins of the more than 600 words discussed in "a book that gets curiouser and curiouser as it goes along" (Son Francisco Chronicle).

Horsefeathers and Other Curious Words

The Lucky Knife: A Western Adventure Story For Young People

The Lucky Knife: A Western Adventure Story for Young People

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Literary Licensing, LLC

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Books by Funk, Charles E.