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This book is perfect for anyone interested in the history of the English language. Sounds dull doesn't it, but it isn't, this is not a dry as dust academic work. Each section is only a few pages long and the whole book is something that you can just dip into rather than slogging through. Find out the bizarre origins of common words and phrases, such as 'Hoisted on his own petard' from Shakespeare, or the origin of 'pantaloons', or the fact that there never used to be a word for 'Up'. Down meant Up and once you had gone *down* to the top of the hill, you then went 'off down' to get to the bottom. All in all an excellent read, and something that you can easily irritate your partner with by reading amusing passages to them while they are trying to go to sleep - watch TV etc....
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