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| Dog Days and Dandelions: A Lively Guide to the Animal Meanings Behind Everyday Words | 
 enlarge | Author: Martha Barnette
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy New: $4.57
You Save: $18.38 (80%)
New (8) Used (7) from $3.05
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 1240045
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.9
ASIN: B000C4SL28
Publication Date: February 12, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
From apian (like a bee) to zodiac (little-animals circle), a word book that spots the animal origins of words and names
There are mice in your muscles, and blackbirds in your merlot. Behind adulation is a dog's wagging tail. Peculiar houses a herd of cattle. Grubby is crawling with bugs. Wordhound Martha Barnette collects more than 300 common (and a few not-so-common) words that have surprising animal roots. Tracing word origins back to ancient Greek and Latin as well as to European roots and American slang, the entries offer a guided tour through literature, science, folklore, politics, and more--with a wilderness of animal meanings at every turn.
For fledgling word sleuths as well as those who fawn over etymologies, this is a delightful smorgasbord for writers, students, and word lovers.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 fun with words! March 1, 2006
A good dictionary of words that have their origins in anything to do with animals...this book is an easy and quick read for word lovers. It explains the origins of many words we use everyday, in an interesting, lucid manner. This collection also includes many names of people and flowers that are derived from animals.
This book would be even better if each word had a pronunciation guide, and if its usage was made clear with an example sentence. But this is a minor point as these two factors are well covered in the author's excellent website 'funwords.com'.
Another great point about this book is that it features a list of books and recommended websites for word lovers.
Barnette makes it easy May 29, 2003
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I've looked through word origin books that were dry and hard to read, but Dog Days and Dandelions is a delight. There are stories to be told about where words come from; this author knows how to choose them and how to tell them.I visited amazon to find more of her books, but they are out of print. I hope either some of you readers will sell your used ones, or that more will be written or printed soon!
making words fun February 19, 2003
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I had no idea there were blackbirds in my merlot nor horses in all my jaded, hackneyed, tacky everyday observations. What a treat of a book! Of course, not that I was surprised...all Barnette's prior offerings-- the charming Ladyfingers and Nun's Tummies and A Garden of Words--are a must-have for writers and readers alike. Anyone who loves words will adore this treasure of a book. I've already learned more than I did in college! And I've just ordered it for three of my friends. Highly recommended.
Beastly fun February 11, 2003
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Martha Barnette is the best. Few others can enliven dry and obsure facts and information like she can - all her books about words should be required reading for anyone with any aspiration of becoming a writer. And she serves up way more than fodder for cocktail chatter. After reading her, you'll find yourself thinking differently about all the words around you.Check out her website... for a preview.
Lots of Language Fun! February 5, 2003
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
A friend gave me this book, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. The author uses linguistic detective work to show us the tracks of all sorts of animal stories hidden inside familiar English words (like the little dog that inspired the word "feisty" and the caterpillar in "chenille"). She also makes it easy to learn some surprising new words. My favorite so far is "chatoyant," which means "shining like a cats' eyes"! It is clear the author loves animals and also loves words. Her delight in both of them is infectious. Like everybody's favorite teacher, she clearly knows a lot about her subject, and communicates it with enthusiasm, plus a great sense of humor. I would recommend this book to any word lover, as well as to anyone else who's naturally curious about animals and the world around us.
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