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A Third Browser's Dictionary
Delightful explorations of the roots (and branches) of words and phrases.
- GenresReference
343 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2001
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About the author
John Ciardi
150 books31 followersJohn Anthony Ciardi was an American poet, translator, editor, writer and etymologist.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 11, 2017
I came to The Third Browser's Dictionary a John Ciardi fan of many decades. I trusted him to give life to the etymology of words. I was even grateful that there was a place like Amazon where such an unlikely book is still available. As of today (July 2014) paperback editions are on sale for under $5!
The introduction is Mr. Ciardi's promise that this edition will be full of illogical wonderment s as "Head over Heels". Where should you head be if not over your heels? In fact by this the Third Edition there may not have been that many such like expressions left to savor.
As a technical work, the book contains some very good and reliable scholarship. Ciardi does not always accept the usual origins of words and he admits when no one has better than a guess, himself included. There are regular efforts to add some humor to his recitation. Too much of his humor is topical, meaning it will not travel well across time. Another, and to me more successful technique to keep the book from being too dry is to include closing sample sentences that uses several senses , and historical variations on the word/phrase under discussion. Having shown that `hyperbole' is derived from Greek meaning "to throw beyond" he gives us the example: Greg Nettles threw a hyperbole to first base and another run scored.
It may help the joke if you know that Greg Nettles was a third base man with 22 years in the major leagues beginning in 1967. The use of hyperbole is a meant as a facetious pun.. are you at least smiling?
Most expressions analyzed by Ciardi hold no particular surprise. Some have since dropped from popular usage and even replaced by newer terms. `Tec' used to be slang for detective and I suspect never used except in Who Done Its. Ciardi writes it up as obsolete by date of publication, 1998 but he does not offer `Tech, or Techie or even Trekki, the first two used as short form for Technician and the last for Extreme fans of Star Trek.
There are enough entries that almost everyone will have an "I did not know that "moment, but too many entries are ordinary and not even illustrative of the more interesting tricks in the history of words. The Third Browsers Dictionary is perhaps one edition too many. This is likely a good value for the serious student of etymology. It is not as entertaining as I know Ciardi was. I will seek out and get a copy of Good Words To You, in the hopes that it better reflects his eye for the unusual in word changes and English language development.
The introduction is Mr. Ciardi's promise that this edition will be full of illogical wonderment s as "Head over Heels". Where should you head be if not over your heels? In fact by this the Third Edition there may not have been that many such like expressions left to savor.
As a technical work, the book contains some very good and reliable scholarship. Ciardi does not always accept the usual origins of words and he admits when no one has better than a guess, himself included. There are regular efforts to add some humor to his recitation. Too much of his humor is topical, meaning it will not travel well across time. Another, and to me more successful technique to keep the book from being too dry is to include closing sample sentences that uses several senses , and historical variations on the word/phrase under discussion. Having shown that `hyperbole' is derived from Greek meaning "to throw beyond" he gives us the example: Greg Nettles threw a hyperbole to first base and another run scored.
It may help the joke if you know that Greg Nettles was a third base man with 22 years in the major leagues beginning in 1967. The use of hyperbole is a meant as a facetious pun.. are you at least smiling?
Most expressions analyzed by Ciardi hold no particular surprise. Some have since dropped from popular usage and even replaced by newer terms. `Tec' used to be slang for detective and I suspect never used except in Who Done Its. Ciardi writes it up as obsolete by date of publication, 1998 but he does not offer `Tech, or Techie or even Trekki, the first two used as short form for Technician and the last for Extreme fans of Star Trek.
There are enough entries that almost everyone will have an "I did not know that "moment, but too many entries are ordinary and not even illustrative of the more interesting tricks in the history of words. The Third Browsers Dictionary is perhaps one edition too many. This is likely a good value for the serious student of etymology. It is not as entertaining as I know Ciardi was. I will seek out and get a copy of Good Words To You, in the hopes that it better reflects his eye for the unusual in word changes and English language development.
Displaying 1 of 1 review