Jess Zafarris, the creator of Useless Etymology, is also the author of the books WORDS FROM HELL (Chambers, 2023) and ONCE UPON A WORD: A WORD-ORIGIN DICTIONARY FOR KIDS (Rockridge Press, February 2020).
About Words from Hell
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The English language is where words go to be tortured and mutilated into unrecognizable shadows of their former selves. It’s where Latin, Greek, and Germanic roots are shredded apart and stitched unceremoniously back together with misunderstood snippets of languages snatched from the wreckage of conquest and colonialism. It wreaks merciless havoc upon grammar and spelling. It turns clinical terms into insults and children’s tales into filthy euphemisms.
Dirty-minded word nerds and lewd linguistics lovers will derive unadulterated pleasure in leering at the origins of swear words, sexual lingo, inappropriate idioms, violent vocabulary, and terminology for bodily functions-not to mention the unexpectedly foul origins of words you thought were perfectly innocent. If it’s inappropriate, stomach-churning, uncomfortable, or offensive, this book reaches into the dark recesses of history and exposes them for all to see.
True to the Chambers brand, this book combines humor, scholarly research and a beautiful design. It is a book to enjoy, collect and revisit time and time again.
About Once Upon a Word
ONCE UPON A WORD targeted at kids ages 9-13, but any word enthusiast can learn something from it, including fun facts about language and the origins of words from “adventure” and “alchemy” to “synonym” and “unanimous.” It also contains lovely illustrations by Marco Marella, including an incredible language tree. Read more about it below.
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Where do words come from?―Learning new words by understanding their stories
The English language is made up of words from different places, events, and periods of time. Each of those words has an exciting story to tell us about where, when, how, and why they came about. Once Upon a Word is packed with easy-to-understand definitions and awesome word-origin stories. With this dictionary for kids, you can understand the history and meaning of English words, improve your vocabulary and spelling, and learn to play with language.
Explore how weird words like gnome, fun words like zombie, and common words like caterpillar came to exist. Discover why some words sound funnier than others (like cackle, sizzle, and twang) and why some groups of words start with the same few letters (like hydrate, hydrogen, and fire hydrant). In this dictionary for kids, there’s a whole world of English words to uncover!
This unique dictionary for kids includes:
- Roots & branches―Learn about the building blocks that make up words, called roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
- Kid-friendly definitions―Look up definitions designed for your reading level in this dictionary for kids.
- Word snack―Find out where your favorite food words got their start, from bacon to marshmallow, spaghetti, yogurt, and beyond.
See how the English language evolved―from its beginnings to today―with this colorful dictionary for kids.
Useless Etymology 