{"product_id":"9781472109415","title":"Haggard Hawks and Paltry Poltroons: The Origins of English in Ten Words","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhat do the following ten words all have in common - haggard, mews, codger, arouse, musket, poltroon, gorge, allure, pounce and turn-tail? All fairly familiar and straightforward words, after a little digging into their histories it turns out that all of them derive from falconry: the adjective haggard described an adult falcon captured from the wild; mews were the enclosures hawks were kept in whilst moulting; codger is thought to come from 'cadger', the member of a hunting party who carried the birds' perches, and so on.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis, essentially, is what Ten Words is all about - the book collects together hundreds of the most intriguing, surprising and little known histories and etymologies of a whole host of English words. From ancient place names to unusual languages, and obscure professions to military slang, this is a fascinating treasure trove of linguistic  facts.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Little, Brown Book Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47129647481072,"sku":"9781472109415","price":6.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781472109415_p0.jpg?v=1763597492","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781472109415","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}