The main character is Colonel Crunch, a kindly ex-military man, who, with his friends, gets up to various adventures. One of the things that they like to do is to make up inventions and see if they work! Sometimes they do... and sometimes they don't, but nobody gets hurt in the process!
Throughout history, events great and small have left their mark on the way we speak. Starting from 1066 and working through to the modern day boom in techno-speak, Dictionary of English Down the Ages links hundreds of words with the historical upheavals and minor social changes which gave them life.
This dictionary traces the origins and histories of over 400 proverbs, detailing the changes of meaning and usage that have occurred throughout each proverb's life and offering literary examples dating back over 2000 years.
Many people, from those for whom English is the mother tongue to those in the early stages of learning English as a second language, finds the language's ambiguity, complexity and common misuse a source of confusion on some occasions. Is there a full stop after "Mr"? Is the Queen Charles' mother or Prince Charles's mother? Do you "inquire", "enquire" or just "ask"? This A-Z companion aims to provide the answers in acceptable - Standard English. A living language is constantly changing and this book offers a fully up-to-date guide to punctuation and idiom, style, spelling and syntax for the browser as well as the seeker. The many examples from newspapers and magazines including the "New Statesman's 'This English'" column provides illustration. This reference book will act as a guide for everyone using written English for pleasure, profit or necessity.
Aimed at both word-puzzle enthusiasts and language students, this is a companion to Dictionary of Idioms and Dictionary of Proverbs. It contains over 500 entries on common words, their origins and their histories, and many other words are detailed in cross-references.
"Dictionary of Idioms - first published in 1992, reprinted 17 times and now fully revised and expanded - examines over 500 expressions, tracing each one's source and history."--Jacket
