Bryson de-mythologizes his native land-explaining how a dusty desert hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn’t won, why Americans say ‘lootenant’ and ‘Toosday’, how Americans were eating junk food long before the word itself was cooked up - as well as exposing the true origin of the G-string, the original $64,000 question and Dr Kellogg of cornflakes fame.

A dictionary for those who perceive a difference, a handbook for Superior Persons who love words. Are you a rasorial searcher after words? Are nouns your bread? Adjectives your butter? Verbs your salad? Adverbs your house dressing? Well, then, this is the book to shiver your futtocks! Put an end to fopdoody speech; amaze your friends, baffle your enemies, write interoffice memos to end all discussion!

How did the expression “a wild-goose chase” originate? Did you know that people used to “let the cat out of the bag” literally? Dr. Funk has taken these and over four hundred other curious expressions and sayings that, without thought, we use in our daily speech. He has traced them back through the years or centuries in an effort to determine their sources, to find out what the original allusions were, or to give us his expert opinion when facts cannot be traced.