Caroline Taggart

A fascinating collection of the many unusual and vibrant phrases that adorn our language, looking at their origins and meanings. Don’t be down in the dumps if you can’t cut the mustard when asked the definition of certain phrases – this down-to-earth guide is just the ticket. This collection contains some intriguing and remarkable stories about our best-loved and most colourful phrases and shows the huge range of sources from which they originate. From advertising to the Ancient Greeks, from the military to meteorology, Kicking the Bucket at the Drop of a Hat takes us on a wonderful journey through our language’s history. With more phrases than you can shake a stick at, this collection will bring home the bacon for any Tom, Dick or Harry with a love of language.

'This "essential cornucopia" aims to inspire you to use uncommon words in their original contex'- BooksellerEver wanted to ameliorate your atavistic lexicon, engage in a little intellectual badinage or been discombobulated by tricky diction? 500 Words You Should Know has you covered. This book will inspire the reader to use uncommon words in their correct context, utilize the English language to its full potential, and test themselves on the words they think they already know. This is a book for the appreciator of correct usage, and contains words you thought you knew (decimate, caveat, nemesis), words you should know (euphemism, diatribe, tautology), and just a few that you might want to know (peripatetic, shibboleth, callipygian). Arranged thematically, each word is dissected, with a brief explanation of etymology, historical and modern usage, allowing you to fully understand and effectively employ the word in its proper context. For those interested in everything this eclectic language has to offer, who wish to celebrate its majesty and depth, this veracious cornucopia of knowledge will have you confabulating with the literary cognoscenti in no time. By the same author:9781843176572 My Grammar and I (Or Should That Be 'Me'?)9781782438205 The Accidental Apostrophe

'See if you can tell your Tantalus from your Tacitus!' – The Daily Telegraph'This book aims to fill you in on the stuff you wish you'd been taught at school' – The Times______________________A Classical Education is a must-have for anyone feeling let down by modern schooling. How many times have you wished that your history stretched all the way back to Greek and Roman myths and legends? Or that you'd been taught Latin at school? Or perhaps you wish you knew all about the great inventions and medical developments that have made our world what it is today? A Classical Education provides all of these classical facts that modern schooling leaves out, and many more. Perfect for parents who wish to broaden their children's education, as well as for those who would simply like to learn or relearn the facts themselves, A Classical Education is informative and educational, but above all accessible. Subjects include: Latin and Greek; Logic and philosophy; Natural sciences; Art and architecture; Poetry and drama; History and Classical literature.

If you've forgotten the capital city of Chile; the basics of osmosis; how to solve a quadratic equation; who wrote the famous poem about daffodils; the use of a conjunction or the number of continents in the world, I Used to Know That is guaranteed to provide all the answers.

'Will do for grammar what Eats Shoots and Leaves did for punctuation' - The Times_______________________A runaway hit and Sunday Times bestseller in 2008, My Grammar and I has continued to grow in popularity, becoming the go-to guide for grammar. My Grammar and I offers amusing examples of awful grammar, while steering you in the direction of grammatical greatness. Taking you on a tour of the English language through the minefield of rules and conditions that can catch you out, from dangling modifiers to split infinitives, it highlights the common pitfalls that every English language user faces on a day to day basis. Refreshing everything you should have learnt at school and more, My Grammar and I is informative yet entertaining: a must-have reference guide for any English language enthusiast.

Serious answers to rhetorical questions--what's not to like? For those of us who have long wondered where bears go to take care of their business, if the Pope is actually Catholic, or whether anyone is really made of money, Caroline Taggart provides the answers to these and a host of previously unanswerable questions. From the most profound questions of philosophy to queries of geography and science, this deadpan book is full of hilarious information you never knew you needed including: - What's love got to do with it? - How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man? - Where does the time go? - Can a leopard change his spots?

Novel writing is a popular hobby and this book will provide the would-be and starter novelist with all the tools needed to get started. This title includes a thorough grounding in essential fiction writing skills and clear guidance on how to get published from top industry names. It provides a complete glossary of terms and listing of all publishing contacts needed by an author, from book publishers and agents to festivals and online links. It includes tremendous resource of instruction and information that will prove invaluable to the armies of would-be and practising novel writers.