The Facts On File Encyclopedia Of Word And Phrase Origins

"The most comprehensive single-volume reference of its kind, The Facts On File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, Fourth Edition has been completely updated and expanded and now contains definitions and origins of more than 15,000 words and expressions. This encyclopedia features anecdotes and information on the development of a wide range of words, including slang, proverbs, animal and plant names, place names, nicknames, historical expressions, foreign language expressions, and phrases from literature. The emphasis throughout is on words and expressions whose origins are not adequately explained, or not addressed at all, in standard dictionaries. Approximately 2,500 new entries have been added to this edition, ranging from Aardsma to zounds."--BOOK JACKET.

Explains the origins of thousands of words, proverbs, idioms, foreign language expressions, animal and plant names, and nicknames.

Provides definitions and examples of words and phrases used in different geographical regions of the United States.

This indispensable work is a comprehensive resource offering abundant information that students and general readers of all ages will find clear and to the point. A useful companion to The Facts On File Dictionary of Cultural and Historical Allusions explains the meanings and origins of allusions from the Bible and classical mythology, including Greek, Roman, Norse, Celtic, and Egyptian. It features approximately 2,000 entries, from Abelard and Heloise to Zeus. It covers biblical and mythological figures (Narcissus, Athena, Daniel), places (Mount Olympus, Gesthemane, Elysian Fields), key concepts (doomsday, utopia), and other references with biblical and mythological origins (judgment of Solomon, salt of the earth, patience of Job, labors of Hercules). It also includes a pronunciation key for difficult words or terms; examples of usage; and extensive cross-references.

Lists the meaning and origin of more than 1,700 traditional and contemporary English proverbs.

This student-friendly Sixth Edition of Composing with Confidence focuses on the writing of paragraphs and essays within the composing process. Students are guided step-by-step through the composing process, but are provided with options in prewriting, discovery, outlining, and predicting. Each chapter in the unit on the rhetorical modes offers student model paragraphs and essays, as well as professional models. Each chapter in this unit includes a well-wrought paragraph assignment, an optional essay writing assignment, and at least five alternative assignments several of them in response to readings to allow for maximum instructional flexibility. Original contributions from well-known authors, textbook writers, professors, and editors offer students advice and insights into the composing practices of professionals. And a full unit of fifteen readings from professional as well as student writers establishes the reading/writing connection, while providing students with additional models and prompts for writing. A full unit on sentence-level issues of grammar and mechanics offers students instruction in only those skills that they need to master to make their writing clear and grammatically correct. Each chapter in the unit ends with two "Editing for Mastery" exercises, in which students must find and correct errors in extended prose passage. The answers to the first exercise are provided in an appendix. "Tips" boxes and "If Your First Language Is Not English" boxes also provide short, specific, and practical advice to students. Above all, however, Composing with Confidence retains its most popular feature: fast-paced, high-interest, continuous discourse materials that make the book fun to read and work with.

Focusing on new reference sources published since 2008 and reference titles that have retained their relevance, this new edition brings O’Gorman’s complete and authoritative guide to the best reference sources for small and medium-sized academic and public libraries fully up to date.