Storied Words

From alphabet to zeugma</P><P><I>Storied Words</I> reveals the picturesque stories of 1000 words that we use to talk about writing.</P><P>You will learn about:</P><P>The actual pictures behind our alphabet letters (e.g. A the inverted head of an ox; B a two-chambered house; Z a sword and shield)</P><P>The surprising common origin of grammar and glamour</P><P>The literal meanings of our rhetorical devices</P><P>The meaningless chatter in jargon's ancestry</P><P>The picturesque origins of the words we use to talk about style</P><P>The mock song of parody</P><P>How and why the librarian of the great ancient library of Alexandria gave us the komma the kolon and the periodos</P><P>Each chapter begins with an introductory essay followed by alphabetized discussions of individual words. Chapter topics include the writer's tools patterns of arrangement style rhetorical choices grammar writers in academe and publishing.</P><P><I>Storied Words</I> is chock full of quotations and anecdotes from writers throughout history; it also contains an essay on the history of the English vocabulary.</P>