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Words from Hell: Unearthing the Darkest Secrets of English Etymology

$27.23  Paperback
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Jess Zafarris

  • Words from Hell
  • Words from Hell
    Combines humour and scholarly research while digging into the roots of swear words, sexual lingo and nice words with naughty origins

352 pages
2024
ISBN: 9781399808217

The English language is where words go to be tortured and mutilated into unrecognisable shadows of their former selves. It's where Latin, Greek, and Germanic roots are shredded apart and stitched unceremoniously back together with misunderstood snippets of languages snatched from the wreckage of conquest and colonialism. It wreaks merciless havoc upon grammar and spelling. It turns clinical terms into insults and children's tales into filthy euphemisms.

With an emphasis on understanding where the foulest words in the English language came from-and the disgusting and hilarious histories behind them-this book demonstrates the true filth of our everyday words. But this book is more than just a list of vulgar words and salacious slang. It's a thoughtful analysis of why we deem words as being inappropriate as well as revealing 'good words' that have surprisingly naughty origins.

Dirty-minded word nerds and lewd linguistics lovers will derive unadulterated pleasure in leering at the origins of swear words, sexual lingo, inappropriate idioms, violent vocabulary, and terminology for bodily functions-not to mention the unexpectedly foul origins of words you thought were perfectly innocent. If it's inappropriate, stomach-churning, uncomfortable, or offensive, this book reaches into the dark recesses of history and exposes them for all to see.

True to the Chambers brand, this book combines humour, scholarly research and a beautiful design. It is a book to enjoy, collect and revisit time and time again.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Welcome to (Word) HelL

  1. The Good, the Bad, the Bleeped: The Origins of Obscenities and Swear Words
  2. The Body Problem: How Word Origins Reveal Our Self-Disgust
  3. Erotic Etymology: The Horniest Words in the English Language
  4. Words that Hort: The Art of Insults
  5. It's Not Us, Its Them: The Bias and Bigotry Embedded in English
  6. Anything You Can Do …: Ableism and the Stigmatization of Mental Health
  7. Intoxicating Etymology: Drugs, Booze, and Beyond
  8. Let's Misbehave: The Language of Crime and Scandal
  9. This Means War: The Vocabulary of Violence, Wrath, and Weaponry
  10. Spellbound: The Etymology of Horror, Witchcraft, and the Supernatural

Epilogue: Words at the End of the World

Glossary of Etymology Terms

Bibliography

Index

Acknowledgments