The world's foremost expert on the English language takes us on an entertaining and eye-opening tour of the history of our vernacular through the ages.

Delve into the hidden nature of words:
An irresistible mix of information, curiosity, and fun

Linguist Vivian Cook takes us on a brilliant series of excursions into the history and meaning of words: How do we learn words as a child? How are words born, and why do they die? Why do some never get spoken, and others never written? Each chapter is charmingly illustrated-and accompanied by a rich assortment of games, lists, puzzles, and quotes. From polite words to crass words, from p-c words to Shakespeare's words, from food and wine words to jazz and drug words-the book is an exciting exploration into the abundance and variety of words.

This TOEFL book is different because it uses an integrated vocabulary learning system called recycling. Recycling is simple. Each exercise is divided into four quizzes. Quiz 1, a multiple-choice vocabulary quiz, introduces ten new words. Next, you will do Quiz 2. Quiz 2 is a sentence-completion quiz based on the ten words in Quiz 1.

Do you have trouble spelling everyday words? Is your spell check on overdrive? Well, this easy-to-use dictionary is just what you need! Organized with speed and convenience in mind, it gives you instant access to the correct spellings of more than 12,500 words. Also provided are quick tips and memory tricks.