Why You Say It : The Fascinating Stories Behind Over 600 Everyday Words and Phrases

Rating:
Summary: "Why you say it" is a great trivia resource
Review: If you want to know the origins of 'Once in a blue moon' or 'Here mud in your eye' or countless other phases and words, this is the book for you. The book is a very entertaining resource full of the mundane and arcane roots of common phrases. This is truly the stuff in which trivia games are made.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but not always as the author intended
Review: The author seems like a nice enough fellow, someone you would enjoy as a dinner speaker. This book is evidently culled from his notecards. Some of his examples are informed, but certainly from secondary or tertiary sources. Others are jaw-dropping speculations based on understandable but wrong-headed idiomatic misreadings. HYMAN KAPLAN enthusiasts will be transfixed, but junior-high researchers and TOEFL-types should steer clear.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but not always as the author intended
Review: The author seems like a nice enough fellow, someone you would enjoy as a dinner speaker. This book is evidently culled from his notecards. Some of his examples are informed, but certainly from secondary or tertiary sources. Others are jaw-dropping speculations based on understandable but wrong-headed idiomatic misreadings. HYMAN KAPLAN enthusiasts will be transfixed, but junior-high researchers and TOEFL-types should steer clear.

Rating:
Summary: Why say why?
Review: This book is full of explanations and origins to over 600 words and phrases used in modern English. Unlike many books that examine the origins of words, this book is easy to read and is highly entertaining. Anyone who enjoys trivia will love this and even for those who don't, it's an enjoyable read nonetheless.