Reference | Words, Language & Grammar
A Christmas Cornucopia
by Mark Forsyth 2020-06-17 20:46:52
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BY THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF A SHORT HISTORY OF DRUNKENNESS Discover the unpredictable origins and etymologies of our Christmas customs this festive season. For something that happens every year of our lives, we really don't know mu... Read more
BY THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF A SHORT HISTORY OF DRUNKENNESS Discover the unpredictable origins and etymologies of our Christmas customs this festive season. For something that happens every year of our lives, we really don't know much about Christmas. We don't know that the date we celebrate was chosen by a madman, or that Christmas, etymologically speaking, means "Go away, Christ". We're oblivious to the fact that the advent calendar was actually invented by a Munich housewife to stop her children pestering her for a Christmas countdown. And we would never have guessed that the invention of crackers was merely a way of popularising sweet wrappers. Luckily, like a gift from Santa himself, Mark Forsyth is here to unwrap this fundamentally funny gallimaufry of traditions and oddities, making it all finally make sense - in his wonderfully entertaining wordy way. 'Witty and revelatory. Blooming brilliant' Raymond Briggs 'Everything we ever thought about Christmas is wrong! Great stuff' Matthew Parris Less
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  • Print pages
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  • Publication date
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  • ISBN
  • 7.5 X 4.6 X 0.8 in
  • 192
  • Penguin Uk
  • November 3, 2016
  • eng
  • 9780241977552
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Mark Forsyth
Author
Mark Forsyth is a writer, journalist, proofreader, ghostwriter, and pedant. He was given a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary as a christening present and has never looked back. He is the creator o...
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