Author(s): Richard Watson Todd

Humour

Did you know that 'rhinoceros' has four possible plurals or that 'silly" has had nine different meanings? Can you guess what 'zenzizenzizenzic' and 'tatterdemalion' mean? Would you talk about an 'ambush of tigers' or a 'shrewdness of apes' or, how about an 'absence of waiters'? If we say one mouse and two mice, why don't we say one house and two hice? Can you tell a Tom Swifty from a Colemanball or a mondegreen? "Much Ado About English" strolls through the vast landscape of the English language and wanders down its most illogical, peculiar and idiosyncratic byways. It ranges from where words have come from and how they've changed, to why spelling and pronunciation don't match up, and the myriad ways we use this flexible and fascinating language. Whether your interest is neologisms or pleonasms, sobriquets or oxymorons, tongue-twisters or palindromes, "Much Ado About English" is a tantalising taste of the massive range and downright bloody-mindedness of English, written in a lighthearted and engaging style.

First published 2006.