The Devil's Dictionary (1906) is a work of satire by Ambrose Bierce. Although he is commonly remembered for his chilling short stories on the experiences of Civil War soldiers, Bierce was recognized in his day as a leading journalist and humorist who spent decades ruffling feathers and drawing laughter with his witty opinion columns, poems, and definitions. Toward the end of his career, he decided to compile these satirical definitions into a book,...

Discusses how Anglo-American has become the language of the world, and describes the changes that English has brought to far-away cultures in distant places.

Lynne Truss, a self-proclaimed stickler, presents a humorous look at the history of punctuation, discussing the use and misuse of commas, apostrophes, semi-colons, and other punctuation marks.

This volume offers the origins of more than 9000 words and phrases, including slang, proverbs, animal and plant names, place-names, nicknames, historical expressions, foreign-language expressions, and phrases from literature. [From publisher's description]

This is the story of the English language in all its richness and variety, a fascinating tale of linguistic, social and cultural transformation. From the intriguing origins and changing definitions of common words such as 'OK', 'berserk', 'curfew', to the massive transformations wrought in the vocabulary and structure of the language by Anglo-Saxon and Norman conquest, through to the literary triumphs of Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales and the works...

Rhyming text and illustrations present explanations of the various types of nouns and rules for their usage.

With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson—the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent—brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can't), to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants

...

Brief text in rhyme and pictures introduce adjectives and their uses.

"This series invites beginning readers to discover where each letter is found in the alphabet, how it sounds, and much more"--