Allusions are a colorful extension of the English Language, drawing on our collective knowledge of literature, mythology, and The Bible give us a literary shorthand for describing people, places, and events. This completely new reference work explains the meanings of the allusions in use in modern English, from Abaddon to Zorro, Tartarus to Tarzan, and Rubens to Rambo. It is based on an extensive reading program that has identified the most commonly-used allusions. Quotations from a range of authors and sources are included at most entries to illustrate usage--anywhere from Thomas Hardy to Ben... View More...
This reference examines the history of Jewish forenames and surnames, tracing the origin of each name and the changes that have occured over generations. View More...
Quoted everywhere from Parenting to The Wall Street Journal, with more than a million copies of their books in print, bestselling authors Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran are the baby-name experts. In this fresh and expanded new edition of the best baby-naming book ever written (The News Journal), they offer irresistible lists of names you won't find anywhere else, along with their trademark wit and insight on the most important questions---and answers---for expectant parents: Style: What's hot and what's cool---including Honest Names, Spiritual Names, Kreeatif Names, The Two-Syllab... View More...
Whether you're of Irish descent, or simply enjoy the sound of Sinead or Finnegan, this excellent source of Irish names features chapters such as Beyond Ryan & Murphy, Conan, Patron Saint of Barbarians, and names from the literature of James Joyce. View More...
The up-to-the minute word on what's hot and what's not from "the arbiters of hip baby names."-The Wall Street Journal As America's leading baby-name experts, Pamela Redmond Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz hear the same question again and again: "What are the cool names?" Here are the fun, fresh answers, delivered with the authors' trademark wit and authority, including: *HOT COOL--From the top 100 of cool to why Ivy is cooler than Ivana. *COOL COOL--Famous names: movie characters, artists, athletes, musicians, and writers, even nanny diary names *NEW COOL--Spiritual names like Pax or Eden; color... View More...
Whether you're about to get a dog, cat, cockatoo or just had a litter of something special, part of the fun is naming that little guy / gal. Don't Call Me Rover has over 5000 names - each with a, surprisingly, funny anecdote to describe the name. Actually, whether or not you are planning a new addition to your home.. it's a very fun read. And, who knows, it may inspire you. View More...
The great variety of Indian place-names in Kansas resulted from attempts to create a permanent American Indian frontier in the West. Beyond Missouri and Arkansas lay the Great American Desert, and Indians from the East were urged to settle there, supposedly free from the white man's appetite for land. Consequently, Kansas has Indian place-names not only from its early Native inhabitants (Siouan, Caddoan, and Shoshonean peoples) but also from the Algonquians, Iroquois, and other eastern tribes, and even a few groups of Indigenous peoples from the West. The study of place-names has many facets-... View More...
Ireland is famous for its beauty, its magic -- and its lyrical names. This one-of-a-kind baby name book offers hundreds of choices for parents-to-be -- from ancient to modern names and from popular to rare. Includes A-to-Z listings on a variety of themes: View More...
How did America get its name. If it was Christopher Columbus, why wasn't it called Columbia? A series of seemingly unconnected discoveries in the past few years points a beam of light at a new and intriguing theory as to how America got its name. Terra Incognita captures the spirit and essence of the age of discovery and introduces new characters that a compelling story of adventure and romance. A fascinating and illuminating light on events that changed the world. View More...
From "mad as a wet hen" to "corn dodger" and "hobgoblin," Charles Funk's collections of curious words and expressions are a treasure trove of word origin. In a language where hearse and rehearse have the same root and the word dunce comes from a great philosopher, English has hundreds of everyday words that originated or acquired their meanings in unusual ways. Dictionaries don't have the space to tell us all the mysteries but now Dr. Funk, with humor and insight, tells us the strange and intriguing stories of hundreds of words and how they came to be a part of our language.... View More...
Introduces unusual names for people, animals, apples, businesses, places, vehicles, and other items, as well as name anagrams, fashionable names, and other remarkable names. View More...
