Paul Anthony Jones: 5 books

From aardvark to zenzizenzizenzic, Word Drops collects a thousand obscure words and language facts in one fascinating chain of word associations. Did you know, for example, that scandal derives from the Latin for “stumbling block” and originally described a trap for a wild animal? In nineteenth-century...

Brimming with hidden histories and tantalizing twists, The Accidental Dictionary tells the extraordinary stories behind ordinary words. Our everyday language is full of surprises; its origins are stranger than you might think. Any word might be knocked and buffeted, subjected to twists and...

What do the following ten words all have in common - haggard, mews, codger, arouse, musket, poltroon, gorge, allure, pounce and turn-tail? All fairly familiar and straightforward words, after a little digging into their histories it turns out that all of them derive from falconry: the adjective haggard...

Did you know that Jedburgh Justice is `executing someone first, then giving them a trial?? Or that Kentish Fire is `applauding sarcastically to silence your opponents?? From the author of Haggard Hawks and Paltry Poltroons, this is a fascinating collection of curious phrases and expressions...

Open The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities and you’ll find both a word and a day to remember, every day of the year. Each day has its own dedicated entry, on which a curious or notable event—and an equally curious or notable word—are explored. On the day on which flirting was banned in New York...