The Accidental Dictionary: The Remarkable Twists and Turns of English Words

　　罕為人知的歷史、撲朔迷離的曲折始末

　　這是一個關於平凡文字背後的非凡故事



　　生活中的語言其實充滿驚喜，它的起源往往比你想的更不可思議。任何一個字都可能經歷過打擊、曲折、延伸與縮小、各種快樂與不快樂的事故！即使是人們最熟悉的術語，也有許多令人著迷的故事，它們隨時願意為你娓娓道來。



　　Busking原本意味著盜版、Grin意味著咆哮、Bimbo本來指的是男人！

　　Nice是無知、Glamor是魔術、Cupboard是桌子、Cloud是一塊岩石？

　　Fathom原先是擁抱的意思，而Explode原本是「把表演者噓下舞台」、Girl是「女孩與男孩」！？



　　隨著書頁的翻閱，讀者會冒出越來越多的驚嘆號與原來如此的感慨。作者一一解釋英文中原先的字義，以及轉換為全新意義之前共堅持了多久。The Accidental Dictionary以100個饒富奇趣的線索，展開一趟詞源大冒險。一起來欣賞文字多樣性與隨機性的美妙吧！我們的字典確實是偶然構成的！



　　「這些驚喜的詞彙故事，呈現字詞的意義如何出現與消失、延伸與收縮、發展與扭曲，即便只是些日常用語，因為作者輕鬆有趣的學習風格，讀起來特別賞心悅目。推薦給文字迷與那些對語言變化感興趣的讀者。」- Library Journal

Busking, for instance, originally meant piracy. Grin meant to snarl. A bimbo was a man; nice meant ignorant; glamor was magic, and a cupboard was a table. Buxom used to mean obedient; a cloud was a rock; raunchy originally meant dirty.

Focusing on one hundred surprising threads in the evolution of English, The Accidental Dictionary reveals the etymological origins and quirky developments that have led to the meanings we take for granted today. It is a weird and wonderful journey into words.

So, let's revel in its randomness and delight in its diversity--our dictionary is indeed accidental.

Paul Anthony Jones is a writer, etymologist, and language blogger. He is the author of several British books on trivia and language, including the widely acclaimed Word Drops: A Sprinkling of Linguistic Curiosities. He has contributed to the Guardian, the Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, Mental Floss and BBC Radio 4’s The World at One, and he also runs @HaggardHawks, the hugely popular language-based Twitter account and YouTube channel. A piano teacher and musician, he lives in Newcastle upon Tyne.