i should hesitate to criticize a fellow drudge in the ditch of language, but Professor Almond's definition of the phrase TIPS was used on a local radio show as an acronym for To Insure Prompt Service. ...
but professor almond's book seems to be popular, i have yet to catch it unchecked out at our local library
onward
pete saussy/george stone saussy iii, compiler of the Oxter English Dictionary/Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Words/The Logodaedalian's Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Words [all pretty much the same book and out of print]

A fun read, but looking through Amazon, there may be better books on this subject.

Jordan Almond's "Dictionary of Word Origins" is an intriguing look at phrases and words we all toss about apart from their original meaning. This book is about those original meanings of cliches.

This is different than most 'unusual word' dictionaries. Usually, you'll get the term, maybe a pronunciation and a short definiton. Instead, here we are introduced to where the word came from. He explains it carefully in layman's language. He doesn't gussy up his book with high-fallootin' lexographical phrasology.

For example, he defines (for a camel to pass through the) "eye of a needle" by describing it biblical origination, and connects it with a Jewish town gateway so small only pedestrians and the smallest of camels can pass through, not large camels (hence, protecting the town from pillagers). Christ famously refers to this in the New Testament, forever placing the phrase in our vernacular.

Jordan tosses our way what 'doughboy,' 'hair of the dog,' 'grandfather clock,' 'corn,' 'boondoggle,' 'nose to the grindstone."

'Manna' for example, means, "What is it?" as the Isrealites had no idea what they were being given. 'Maudlin,' Jordan reveals, is from the British pronunciation of 'Magdalene,' and that early artists painted Mary Magdalene with a dour demeanor.

Editorial historians might differ with Jordan as per the precise origin of 'OK.' They would argue that it was a silly joke--an intended deviation of "all correct" (oll korekt) as written on acceptable copy. Jordan suggests that it is from Martin Van Buren's nickname of Old Kinderhook while he ran for office.

Knowing this is not a scientific text, you can enjoy this as I did, as something to wander through while sipping tea and munching warm scones on an early Saturday morning. Linguists, cultural anthropologists might all disagree about the beginnings of words, but, for me, it was a fun, educational read.

I fully recommend "Dictionary of Word Origins" by Jordan Almond.

Anthony Trendl

The book "Exploring Ethics" gives an interesting introduction and overview to ethics, with a nice starting point. Almond finds herself lost in a jungle and nearly dies of an accident. She is rescued by some members of a yet undiscovered tribe. During her stay with the tribe she has several discussions on ethics. This approach leads her to proclaim her own ideas on the subject. The result is an interesting mix of an overview of the history of ethics and her own argumentations.
Even though I quite often agree with Almond's views, I find her lines of argumentation (overall) pretty weak. Sometimes I even feel a bit emberassed when I do agree with her: at times her argumentation is nearly worthless.
Brenda Almond is a professor in the field of ethics, but I certainly hope not too manystudents get to learn from this book.

Following Almond's trail-blazing philosophical odyssey of Sophia, Exploring Philosophy, originally published in the Penguin 'self-starters' series, as plain 'Philosophy', comes the new volume, Exploring Ethics. If the first book contained a narrative root of a seeker, Sophia, searching out the issues with the aid of Almond's omniscient philosophical consultant, 'Q', Exploring Ethics finds the philosophically bemused in a metaphorical canyon surrounded by ethical (human) animals, each propounding their own doctrine of rights and wrongs. Imaginative and fluently written, subtly iconoclastic in form, and in content too, perhaps, Almond's book is certain to do well in the bookshops, if fated to be rather less welcome in some of the philosophical citadels of academia.