Ebook: Wordcatcher: an Odyssey into the World of Weird and Wonderful Words

Intro; Praise; BOOKS BY PHIL COUSINEAU; Title Page; Dedication; Epigraph; Acknowledgements; Introduction; A; ABRACADABRA; ABSURD; ACADEMY; ACCOLADE; ADUMBRATE; AFTERMATH; AGONY; ALLEGORY; AMAZON; AMUSE; ANIMATEUR; APHILOPHRENIA; ARACHIBUTYROPHOBIA; ARGONAUT; ASSASSIN; ASTONISH; ASTRAL; ATHLETE; ATLAS; AUGUR; AWARE; B; BAFFLE; BAKSHEESH; BAMBOOZLE; BANDERSNATCH; BARBARIAN; BATHOS; BEAUTY; BEDSWERVER; BEKOS; BERSERK; BEWILDER; BIBLIOTHÈQUE (FRENCH); BONA FIDE; BONDMAID; BOONDOCKS; BORBORYGMUS; BOUDOIR; BRICOLEUR (FRENCH); BROADCAST; BROWNSTUDY; BUCCANEER; BUDGET; BULL; BUMMER; BUNDLING; C;Who knew that the great country of Canada is named for a mistake? How about ""bedswerver, "" the best Elizabethan insult to hurl at a cheating boyfriend? By exploring the delightful back stories of the 250 words in Wordcatcher, readers are lured by language and entangled in etymologies. Author Phil Cousineau takes us on a tour into the obscure territory of word origins with great erudition and endearing curiosity. The English poet W.H. Auden was once asked to teach a poetry class, and when 200 students applied to study with him, he only had room for 20 of them. When asked how he chose his stud.