Dog Days and Dandelions: A Lively Guide to the Animal Meanings Behind Everyday Words

Dog Days and Dandelions: A Lively Guide to the Animal Meanings Behind Everyday Words by Barnette, Martha. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780312280727.

From apian (like a bee) to zodiac (little-animals circle), a word book that spots the animal origins of words and names There are mice in your muscles, and blackbirds in your merlot. Behind adulation is a dogs wagging tail. Peculiar houses a herd of cattle. Grubby is crawling with bugs. Wordhound Martha Barnette collects more than 300 common (and a few not-so-common) words that have surprising animal roots. Tracing word origins back to ancient Greek and Latin as well as to European roots and American slang, the entries offer a guided tour through literature, science, folklore, politics, and more--with a wilderness of animal meanings at every turn. For fledgling word sleuths as well as those who fawn over etymologies, this is a delightful smorgasbord for writers, students, and word lovers.