The Etymologicon Audiobook By Mark Forsyth cover art

The Etymologicon

A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language

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The Etymologicon

By: Mark Forsyth
Narrated by: Simon Shepherd
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About this listen

A quirky, entertaining and thought-provoking tour of the unexpected connections between words, read by Simon Shepherd. What is the actual connection between disgruntled and gruntled? What links church organs to organised crime, California to the Caliphate, or brackets to codpieces?

The Etymologicon springs from Mark Forsyth's Inky Fool blog on the strange connections between words. It's an occasionally ribald, frequently witty and unerringly erudite guided tour of the secret labyrinth that lurks beneath the English language, taking in monks and monkeys, film buffs and buffaloes, and explaining precisely what the Rolling Stones have to do with gardening.

©2012 Mark Forsyth (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Social Sciences
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If you could sum up The Etymologicon in three words, what would they be?

witty, educational, British

What does Simon Shepherd bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Wry British humour

Any additional comments?

The subject matter itself is quite dry - it's the history of words & phrases in the English language. Some may find that knowing the origin of the word "heroin" might not be worth their time or Audible credit (it was a trademark by Bayer for a cough syrup). But for language & history buffs, this is a great investment of your time & money.

Fascinating subject might not be for everyone

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I was absolutely hooked through out the book. The fun part was that I just couldn't resist pausing and "sharing" my "word-discoveries" with my husband, my best friend or my colleagues depending who was around

Really and I mean REALLY enjoyed this

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really interesting and very informative going through the history and background of English words, how it came to exist and transformed in various timeline

listen at least for one time

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