English Through the Ages

"Laptop," "quality time," "politically correct," "wannabe," and "spin doctor"--these terms are all such mainstays of our modern-day vernacular that it's hard to believe they are only about 15 years old. It seems equally unlikely that, even in the year 1150, a person could live life in the "fast lane," eschewing his own "flesh and blood" and "sleeping with a comely whore" at his "summerhouse." Such a "witless turd" could even "tap" an "ice-cold keg," after which he might just "spew" his "guts" out. This hefty volume is sure entertainment for anyone interested in knowing that the word "smooch" is about 350 years older than the word "oink," that in the 1600s a "prick" was a nice guy, and that women were getting "knocked up" by the year 1665 (a good 30 years, for what it's worth, after the first recording of the phrase "women's rights"). --Jane Steinberg