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Highly Recommended

Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins
William Morris and Mary Morris; Hardcover.
Yes, it's by my parents, but it would be at the top of my list even if it weren't. Almost 600 pages of fascinating word and phrase histories, including many folk sayings.


Books by Hugh Rawson

Rawson's Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other Doubletalk
Hugh Rawson, Brandt Aymar; Hardcover.

Wicked Words : A Treasury of Curses, Insults, Put-Downs, and Other Formerly Unprintable Terms from Anglo-Saxon Times to the Present
Hugh Rawson; Paperback.
Possibly one of the funniest books ever written on the subject of words. See my review of this book here.

Devious Derivations: Popular Misconceptions - And More Than 1,000 True Origins of Common Words and Phrases; Hugh Rawson; Paperback.


Books by Christine Ammer
Ms. Ammer has written an excellent series of books covering the origins of words pertaining to a variety of subjects.

Fruitcakes & Couch Potatoes and Other Delicious Expressions
Christine Ammer; Paperback.

Have a Nice Day--No Problem! A Dictionary of Cliches
Christine Ammer; Paperback.

Fighting Words : From War, Rebellion and Other Combative Capers
Christine Ammer; Hardcover.

It's Raining Cats and Dogs, and Other Beastly Expressions
Christine Ammer; Hardcover.

Southpaws & Sunday Punches And Other Sporting Expressions
Christine Ammer; Paperback.


Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE)

Dictionary of American Regional English/Introduction and A-C Vol 1
Frederic G. Cassidy; Hardcover

Dictionary of American Regional English : D-H Vol 2
Frederic G. Cassidy, Joan Houston Hall; Hardcover.

Dictionary of American Regional English (Volume 3)
Frederick G. Cassidy, Joan Houston Hall; Hardcover (Not Yet Published -- On Order)

An Index by Region, Usage, and Etymology to the Dictionary of American Regional English, Volumes I and II (Publication of the American Dialect Society)
Allan A. Metcalf, Luanne Von Schneidemesser; Paperback.


Books by William Safire

In Love With Norma Loquendi
William Safire, Keith Bendis; Hardcover.

Quoth the Maven
William Safire, Keith Bendis; Hardcover.

I Stand Corrected
William Safire; Hardcover.

Watching My Language
William Safire; Hardcover.(Not Yet Published)


Dictionaries You Need

The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles
Lesley Brown; Hardcover.

Webster's Third New International Dictionary
Philip Babcock Gove; Hardcover.

Addenda Section 1993 : A Supplement to Third International Dictionary
Webster Staff; Paperback.

Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary
Hardcover.

Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary And CD-Rom With Pronunciations and Graphics (Version 2.0 for Windows 95)
Hardcover.


Slang

Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang : A-G Vol 1
J.E. Lighter, et al; Hardcover

Concise Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English: From a Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English by Eric Partridge
Paul Beale; Hardcover.

Contemporary American Slang (Ntc English-Language References)
Richard A. Spears; Paperback.

American Slang
Robert Chapman; Paperback.

Biz Talk 1: American Business Slang & Jargon
David Burke; Paperback.

Black Talk: Words and Phrases from the Hood to the Amen Corner
Geneva Smitherman; Paperback.

Bleep! : A Guide to Popular American Obscenities
David Burke; Paperback.

A Dictionary of Catch Phrases : American and British, from the Sixteenth Century to the Present Day
Eric Partridge, Paul Beale; Paperback.

The Dictionary of Contemporary Slang : With More Than 5,000 Racy and Raffish Colloquial Expressions-From America, Great Britain, Australia, etc.
Tony Thorne; Paperback.

A Dictionary of Rhyming Slang
Julian Franklyn; Paperback.

Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English : Colloquialisms, and Catch-Phrases, Solecisms and Catachresis, Nicknames, and Vulgarisms
Eric Partridge; Hardcover.

Forbidden American English
Richard A. Spears; Paperback.

Net Talk
Nancy Tamosaitis; Paperback.

New Dictionary of American Slang
Robert L. Chapman; Hardcover.

The New Hacker's Dictionary
Eric S. Raymond; Paperback.

The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang (Oxford Paperback Reference)
John Ayto, John Simpson; Paperback.

Slang and Euphemism : A Dictionary of Oaths, Curses, Insults, Sexual Slang and Metaphor, Racial Slurs, Drug Talk, Homosexual Lingo, and Related Matte
Richard A. Spears; Mass Market Paperback.

Slang Through the Ages
Jonathon Green; Paperback

Slang!: The Topic-By-Topic Dictionary of Contemporary American Lingoes
Paul Dickson; Paperback.

This Dog'll Hunt
Wallace O. Chariton; Paperback.

Trash Cash, Fizzbos, and Flatliners : A Dictionary of Today's Words
Sid Lerner, et al; Paperback.

Western Lore and Language : A Dictionary for Enthusiasts of the American West
Thomas L. Clark; Hardcover.

Bob's Your Uncle : A Dictionary of Slang for British Mystery Fans
Jann Turner-Lord; Paperback.

Dictionary of Catch Phrases : American and British, from the Sixteenth Century to the Present Day
Eric Partridge; Hardcover.

Dictionary of Forces Slang 1939-1945
Eric Partridge, et al; Hardcover.

Swearing : A Social History of Foul Language, Oaths and Profanity in English (Language Library)
Geoffrey Hughes; Hardcover.

Unkind Words : Ethnic Labeling from Redskin to Wasp
Irving Lewis Allen; Hardcover.


Assorted (to be classified when I get a chance).

Caught in the Web of Words: James A. H. Murray and the Oxford English Dictionary
K.M. Elisabeth Murray, R.W. Burchfield; Paperback.

The New Fowler's Modern English Usage
H.W. Fowler, R.W. Burchfield; Hardcover. (Not Yet Published -- On Order)

Unlocking the English Language
Robert Burchfield; Paperback.

Essentials of English Grammar
Otto Jespersen; Paperback.

The Philosophy of Grammar
Otto Jespersen; Paperback.

Growth and Structure of the English Language
Otto Jespersen; Paperback.

Portmanteau Dictionary : Blend Words in the English Language, Including Trademarks and Brand Names
Dick Thurner; Hardcover.

Private Lives of English Words
Louis G. Heller; Hardcover

Sahibs, Nabobs and Boxwallahs : A Dictionary of the Words of Anglo-India
Ivor Lewis; Hardcover.

2107 Curious Word Origins, Sayings & Expressions from White Elephants to Song Dance/Four Books in One)
Charles Earle Funk; Hardcover.

Animalogies : 'a Fine Kettle of Fish' and 150 Other Animal Expressions
Michael MacRone; Hardcover.

A Bird in the Hand : And the Stories Behind 250 Other Common Expressions (The Armchair Philologist)
Leonard Mann; Paperback.

British English, A to ZEd
Norman W. Schur; Paperback.

Country Talk : A Collection of American Country Colloquialisms
Diane Suchetka, Andrea Winton; Hardcover.

Descriptionary : A Thematic Dictionary : When You Know What It Is, but Not What It's Called
Marc MacCutcheon; Paperback.

A Dictionary of Catch Phrases : American and British, from the Sixteenth Century to the Present Day
Eric Partridge, Paul Beale; Paperback.

A Dictionary of Euphemisms
R. W. Holder; Hardcover.

The Eaten Word : The Language of Food, the Food in Our Language
Jay Jacobs; Hardcover.

The Faber Dictionary of Euphemisms
R.W. Holder; Paperback.

The Gobbledygook Book : Dictionary of Acronyms Abbreviations Initializations & Esoteric Terminolo Gy
Franklin W. Fox, Franklin W. Fox; Paperback.

Grand Allusions : A Lively Guide to Those Expressions, Terms and References You Ought to Know but Might Not
Elizabeth Webber, Mike Feinsilber; Paperback.

An Illustrated Dictionary of Little-Known Words from Literary Classics
Mary Ellen Snodgrass; Hardcover.

In a Pickle : And Other Funny Idioms
Marvin Terban; Paperback.

Mad As a Wet Hen : And Other Funny Idioms
Marvin Terban, Giulio Maestro; Paperback.

Off the Clock : A Lexicon of Time Words and Expressions
Kimberly Olson Fakih; Hardcover.

Random House Word Menu
Stephen Glazier; Hardcover.

Random House Word Menu/Book and Two Disks
Stephen Glazier; Hardcover.

Speaking of Animals : A Dictionary of Animal Metaphors
Robert A. Palmatier; Hardcover.

There's a Word for It! : A Grandiloquent Guide to Life
Charles Harrington Elster; Hardcover

When a Loose Cannon Flogs a Dead Horse There's the Devil to Pay : Seafaring Words in Everyday Speech
Olivia A. Isil; Paperback.

Whistlin' Dixie : A Dictionary of Southern Expressions
Robert Hendrickson; Paperback.

The Complete Plain Words
Ernest, Sir Gowers, et al; Hardcover.

A Dictionary of Cliches : With an Introductory Essay
Eric, Partridge; Paperback.

Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms : Being a Compendium of More Than 1800 Collective Nouns, Group Terms, and Phrases
Ivan G. Sparkes; Hardcover.

A Fine Kettle of Fish and Other Figurative Phrases
Laurence Urdang, et al; Paperback.

Kind Words : A Thesaurus of Euphemisms
Judith S. Neaman, Carole G. Silver; Hardcover.

More Texas Sayings Than You Can Shake a Stick at
Anne Dingus; Paperback. (Not Yet Published -- On Order)

Scoor-Oot : A Dictionary of Scots Words and Phrases in Current Use
James A.C. Stevenson, Iseabail MacLeod; Paperback.

Southern Talk : A Disappearing Language
Ray Cunningham; Paperback.

From Achilles' Heel to Zeus's Shield : A Lively, Information Guide to More Than 300 Words and Phrases Born of Mythology
Dale Corey Dibbley; Paperback.

The Merriam-Webster New Book of Word Histories
Paperback.

Wise Words and Wives' Tales : The Origins, Meanings, and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and Folk Sayings, Olde and New
Stuart Flexner, Doris Flexner; Paperback.

Word Origins : The Romance of Language
Cecil Hunt; Paperback.

Word Watch : The Stories Behind the Words of Our Lives (A Henry Holt Reference Book)
Anne H. Soukhanov; Hardcover.

Animal Things We Say
Daryl Lyman; Hardcover.

Australian Aboriginal Words in English : Their Origin and Meaning
R.M.W. Dixon, et al; Hardcover

Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
Robert K. Barnhart; Hardcover

Dictionary of Idioms and Their Origins
Linda Flavell, Roger Flavell; Paperback

Dictionary of Sports Idioms
Robert S. Palmatier, Harold L. Ray; Paperback.

Dictionary of Word Origins : A History of the Words, Expressions and Cliches We Use
Jordan Almond; Paperback.

From Greek to Graffiti : English Words That Survive and Thrive
Robert C. Goodspeed; Hardcover.

Empire of Words : The Reign of the Oed
John Willinsky; Hardcover

Etymological Dictionary of Modern English Vol 1
Ernest Weekly; Paperback

Etymological Dictionary of Modern English Vol 2
Ernest Weekly; Paperback.

The F Word
Jesse Sheidlower; Paperback.

Frumspeak : The First Dictionary of Yeshivish
Chaim M. Weiser; Hardcover.

Aw Shucks : The Dictionary of Country Jawing (The New Artful Wordsmith Series)
Anne Bertram, Richard A. Spears; Paperback.


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