Words The Sea Gave Us by Grace Tierney

Words The Sea Gave Us by Grace Tierney

Words The Sea Gave Us is a light-hearted look at the words the English dictionary borrowed from the sea. From baggywinkle and gollywobbler to tempest and flotsam, the sea in all her moods has given a boatload of words to the English language throughout history. This book explores their origins along with a cargo of old sailor's yarns. Cast your line for the salty history of skyscraper, mollgogger, strike, cyber, and phrases like getting hitched, red herring, hot pursuit, and taking them down a peg. More than 370 words and phrases are featured from above board to yardarm - drawn from parts of a ship, sail names, crew titles, surfer slang, marine monsters, nautical navigation, flying the flag, and of course, how to talk like a scurvy pirate. Throw in some sea fables, fashions, and weather and you're ready to set sail. Previous nautical experience not required. Ideal for word geeks, sailors, and beachcombers.

Grace Tierney is a columnist, author, and blogger writing in rural Ireland. Her award winning Wordfoolery blog about the history of unusual English words has been running for ten years. She deploys her passion for history to explore the meaning and origin of uniquely Irish words such as spud or pooka, investigates the people behind eponyms like Ferris or Pavlova, and simply enjoys the humour to be found in kibitz, friggatriskaidekaphobia, mumpsimus, and polliwog. Grace's favourite eponymous hero is Casanova because his swashbuckling life was so extraordinary, definitely not the average librarian.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781999977627
ISBN 10	1999977629
Title	Words The Sea Gave Us
Author	Grace Tierney
Series	Wordfoolery Words
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Wordfoolery Press
Year published	2020-07-09
Number of pages	282
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.