English Through the Ages | 
 enlarge | Author: William Brohaugh
Publisher: Writer's Digest Books
Category: Book
List Price: $24.99
Buy Used: $2.67
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Avg. Customer Rating:0 reviews
Sales Rank: 660564
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 586
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.5
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 7.6 x 1.8
ISBN: 0898796555
Dewey Decimal Number: 420
EAN: 9780898796551
ASIN: 0898796555
Publication Date: December 1997
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Condition: EX-LIBRARY; used item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned for refund. Buy with confidence - your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
"Laptop," "quality time," "politically correct," "wannabe," and "spin doctor"--these terms are all such mainstays of our modern-day vernacular that it's hard to believe they are only about 15 years old. It seems equally unlikely that, even in the year 1150, a person could live life in the "fast lane," eschewing his own "flesh and blood" and "sleeping with a comely whore" at his "summerhouse." Such a "witless turd" could even "tap" an "ice-cold keg," after which he might just "spew" his "guts" out. This hefty volume is sure entertainment for anyone interested in knowing that the word "smooch" is about 350 years older than the word "oink," that in the 1600s a "prick" was a nice guy, and that women were getting "knocked up" by the year 1665 (a good 30 years, for what it's worth, after the first recording of the phrase "women's rights"). --Jane Steinberg
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| Customer Reviews:
 A Plenteous and Pure Tome of the English Tongue April 16, 2001
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book belongs in your collection if you are interested in word useage through time. This book is particularly useful when you want to give your historical writing that extra oomph, and you want to use the right word for the right time. How about a quick insult? Flip to the proper time frame, say 1350, and Lo! Words like "Lurdane" (dull, heavy, stupid, sluggish) and "Gig" (Sorry, this is a family website, you'll have to read the book)abound anon. You can also use the index to locate a particular word. The page numbers will tip you off as to where the word falls in the timeline. A very helpful, but not always employed, feature is the notation "u", meaning the word was in use until a particular time. This way, you can be confident that "gig" was a good insult "u1700". We are bounden to William Brohaugh.
 Hefty, but Specific Reference April 22, 1999
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
A fine, if special purpose, reference. The first half of the book contains a cronological listing of words broken down by category (War, Interjections, Emotions, Colors). This is interesting for questions like: "What words would a modern man of the 1590's use?" The latter (and more specifically useful) half contains an alphabetic index of all words (but sadly indexed without date -- requiring some paging back and forth): "Is this word appropriate for a Lady of the 1880's?" This is the sort of reference that cries out for CD-Rom, but the flexibility of paper far outweighs the limited possibilities of some cd ui. "Brief Musings" about English evolution break up the index monotony and add some "why" rather than just what.
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