ACCIDENTAL DICTIONARY

There are intriguing tales behind even the most familiar words, and they can say as much about the present as they do the past. Busking, for instance, originally meant piracy. To grin meant to snarl. A bimbo was a man, nice meant ignorant, glamour was magic and a cupboard was a table. Following 100 surprising threads in the evolution of English, this book reveals the etymological journeys and quirky developments that lie aback of the meanings we take for granted today.