Casual Lex: An Informal Assemblage of Why We Say What We Say

Webb Garrison

may 2005 · HarperChristian + ORM

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Containing updated editions of the What’s in a Word and Why You Say it, this compendium reveals the history of common words and phrases.

Are you a lover of language? Awaken your passion for words, and savor the sheer deliciousness of the things people say!

Casual Lex holds the hidden pleasures found in our usage of words. This fresh edition of two etymology classics by Webb Garrison will turn you on to the fascinating—and often surprising—stories behind everyday words and phrases. Experience Casual Lex and discover:

• The phrase hell on wheels comes from the early American practice of renting railway flatcars to create rolling casinos and brothels bound for the Wild West.
• Gibberish was the word coined by English villagers to describe the hard-to-understand dialects of certain bands of Gypsies.
• Gymnasium comes from the Greek word gymnos, which means “naked”—Greek athletes trained and competed in the nude.

If your joy of language has been aroused, then many more surprises await you. After all, even the most formal users of our language can benefit from a little Casual Lex

“A rather good book to have at hand.” —Kirkus Reviews on Why You Say It

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Webb Garrison, formerly associate dean of Emory University and president of McKendree College, wrote more than 55 books, including Civil War Curiosities and Civil War Trivia and Fact Book. Before his death in 2000, Garrison lived in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina.