When James Murray compiled the OED in the 19th century, he used a small army of volunteers--and thousands upon thousands of paper slips--to track down the English language. Today, linguists use massive computer power--including the world's largest language databank, the Oxford Corpus, which contains more than two billion words--to determine for the first time definitively how the English language is used. From evidence contained in the gargantuan Oxford Corpus, Jeremy Butterfield here uncovers a wealth of fascinating facts about the English language. Where does our vocabulary come from? How do word meanings change? How is our language really being used? This entertaining book has the up-to-date and authoritative answers to all the key questions about our language. Butterfield takes a thorough look at the English language and exposes its peculiarities and penchants, its development and difficulties, revealing exactly how it operates. We learn, for instance, that we use language in chunks of words--as one linguist put it, "we know words by the company that they keep." For instance, the word quintessentially is joined half the time with a nationality--something is "quintessentially American" or "quintessentially British." Using such observations, Butterfield explains how dictionary makers decide which words to include, how they find definitions, and how the Corpus influences the process. Covering all areas of English, from spelling and idioms to the future of English, and with entertaining examples and useful charts throughout, this compelling and lively book will delight word lovers everywhere.

"In this book, Jeremy Butterfield mines the Oxford Corpus, a vast collection of electronically-held texts used for compiling Oxford's world-famous dictionaries. He uncovers a wealth of fascinating facts and figures across the whole spectrum of English - from vocabulary size and word origins to spelling and meaning, from word groupings and idiomatic phrases to grammar and usage." "Whether you are happy to give the language free rein (free reign?), or whether you are more straight-laced (strait-laced?) when it comes to change, you will be amazed at what is revealed when the English language goes buck naked. (Or should that be butt naked?)"--BOOK JACKET.

In this collection of classic malapropisms, author Robert Alden Rubin shares verbal and textual flubs collected from the deepest corners of the internet as well as esteemed publications, accompanied by his own illustrations.

For a policeman, there are some questions that have to be asked even if you don’t want to know the answers . . . A middle-aged man jumps under a tube train at Shepherd’s Bush station, and a teenage girl is killed in a hit-and-run, in a country lane puzzlingly far from her home on the White City Estate: two unrelated incidents which occupy DCI Bill Slider and his team during a slack period. At least it’s a change of speed after the grind of domestics, burglaries and Community Liaison. But links to a cold case – another dead teenager, pulled out of the River Thames – create doubts as to whether they are indeed unrelated. And slowly a trail of corruption and betrayal is uncovered, leading Slider and his firm ever deeper into a morass of horror.

A selection of 21 stories, Nine Times in Ten follows a number of well-created characters and scenarios, including:Harry makes a Faustian pact in the world of professional football...Eight-year-old Robert finds the body of his murdered friend...Julie is transformed by a Roman love affair – will family ties frustrate her bid for freedom?John consults a witch in Bogotá – will her predictions come true? John Foster takes inspiration from a range of storytellers, in particular Ernest Hemingway, Alan Bennett, John Le Carré and Gabriel García Marquez. Fellow admirers of this famous quartet will enjoy his collection, which will also appeal to fans of the short story.

What do “the whole kit and caboodle,” “the whole shebang,” “the whole megillah,” “the whole enchilada,” “the whole nine yards,” “the whole box and dice,” and “the full Monty” have in common? They’re all expressions that mean “the entire quantity,” and they’re all examples of the breadth and depth of the English-speaking world’s vocabulary. From the multitude of words and phrases in daily use, the author of this delightful exploration into what we say and why we say it zeroes in on those expressions and sayings and their variations that are funny, quirky, just plain folksy, or playfully dressed up in rhyme or alliteration. Some may have become clichés that, as it’s said with “tongue in cheek,” should be “avoided like the plague.” Others have been distorted, deemed politically incorrect, or shrouded in mystery and must bear some explanation. Among the topics the author delves into are expressions that shouldn’t be taken literally (“dressed to kill” and “kick the bucket”), foreign expressions that crept into English (“carte blanche,” “carpe diem,” and “que sera, sera”), phrases borrowed from print ads and TV commercials (“where there’s life, there’s Bud” and “where the rubber meets the road”), animal images (“a barrel of monkeys” and “chasing your tail”), and food and drink (“cast your bread upon the water,” “chew the fat,” “bottom’s up!”, and “drink as a lord”). Here’s a book for everyone who delights in the mysteries of language and the perfect gift for all the “wordies” in your life.

The singular sensation of holiday camps has captured the imagination of a worldwide audience, spreading their unbridled merrymaking beyond the UK. Now, anyone who has been bitten by the camp bug can get the true story on these popular holiday centres and get the best value for their money. The work f a veteran performer and entertainments manager, I was Superblue delivers hilarious camp stories and outrageous cautionary tales. Crowd-pleasing and always fun, it serves up the scoop on donning a coat, putting on shows, delighting families, and keeping the razzle dazzle alive and well. In one lively gathering of wisdom and tips, holidaymakers and guests will have the run of show of this dynamic world and will learn what it really takes to create a superlative sense of fun. Readers will discover: A history of holiday camps How to demand best value for money on holiday What quality entertainment they should be getting How to demand the holiday of a lifetime averytime!!!

"Jonathan Coe finally provides a sequel to The Winshaw Legacy, the 1995 novel that introduced American readers to one of Britain's most exciting new writers -- an acerbic, hilariously dark, and unflinching portrait of modern society. In Number 11, Coe has filled his intricate plot with a truly Dickensian cast of characters. The novel opens in the early aughts with two ten-year-old girls, Alison and Rachel, and their frightening encounter with the "Mad Bird Woman," a mysterious figure who lives down the road. As the narrative progresses through time, the novel broadens in scope toward other people who are somehow connected to the two girls. We follow the trials and tribulations of Alison's mother, a has-been singer, as she competes on TV's reality hit I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Rachel's university mentor confronts her late husband's disastrously obsessive search for an untraceable German film he saw as a child. A young police constable investigates the seemingly accidental and unrelated deaths of two stand-up comedians. And when Rachel becomes a nanny for ludicrously wealthy family, she discovers a dark and terrifying secret lying beneath their immense mansion in London's most staggeringly expensive neighborhood. Combining psychological insight, social commentary, vicious satire, and even surrealist horror, this highly accomplished work holds a revealing and disquieting mirror up to the world we live in today"--

A Policeman’s Lot Volume Two in the Notting Hill Trilogy A comedy adventure, beginning in London in the spring of 1975. An elderly widow who lived in Notting Hill and was involved in the finding of some stolen penny black stamps, brings home a real dinosaur bone to compare it to an imitation one. Her dog breaks the false bone and falls sick. A friend, who was visiting her, collected the residue contained within the false bone and gave it to a policeman. It was identified as heroin and investigations lead the police to Museums in England who had bought the false bones, being part of a display of Dinosaurs, to a raid in Holland, where the policeman, who took part in a raid, had a fight in a sex club. The raid was a success, but his escapade in the club infuriated his superiors, whereupon he was placed on suspension. The chief constable, however, knew the truth and engaged him as an undercover agent to resolve other police matters and placed him with an American cop, as an assistant. After many comical situations including going undercover in a nudist camp and being part of a sting in a criminal situation, the truth, however, was finally revealed and the policeman became a hero and gained fame and fortune.

Gareth Carrol presents a collection of "modern idioms", which have become a part of our vocabulary in the past 50 years or so. In most cases, idioms such as "raining cats and dogs", that colour our everyday communication, are deeply rooted in culture and history. However, just like words, new idioms emerge in language, and many have entered our vocabulary through, TV, movies and the internet. These modern idioms can be dated very precisely. Jumping Sharks and Dropping Mics finds the origins of these idioms, and charts their development.