Mental Floss: The Curious Compendium of Wonderful Words: A Miscellany of Obscure Terms, Bizarre Phrases & Surprising Etymologies - Er Mccarthy &. The Team At Mental Floss

From Mental Floss, the premier destination for curious minds, comes a deep dive into the the world of words! You'll discover the surprising (and sometimes very dark) origins of common terms, a guide to quirky old-timey words, a timeline of popular slang, tips & tricks to win at every word game, from Scrabble to Wordle, a collection of the best literary insults, and much more! Ever wonder if there is a synonym for the word synonym? Or why people really hate the word moist? Maybe you want to know why we tell a person to take something with a grain of salt, or why McDonalds went to war with a dictionary. From obscure words to the best literary insults ever written, this linguistic miscellany is sure to spice up your vocabulary, make you a whizz at word games, and prepare you for plenty of wordy repartee for your next soiree, with some of the most bizarre terms you never knew you needed. A CACOPHONY OF WORDS : Learn the meaning and surprising history of hundreds of words and phrases LOTS OF LISTS : Discover curated collections of literary insults, old-timey words, popular slang, and much more WORD GAME WIZ : Includes tips for mastering popular word games from Scrabble to Wordle WIT FOR WRITERS : Writers looking for just the right word will be inspired by hundreds of unusual and obscure words REFERENCE FOR READERS : Fans of every genre, from Norse Myths to Victorian Romance will find histories, origins, and backstories of the words that make up their favorites reads COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION : Mental Floss: The Curious Reader, Mental Floss: The Curious Movie Buff, and Mental Floss: The Curious Viewer are also available