Home-grown English

An entertaining and authoritative tour of the American language.

Now in paperback! The American language has a living history, and the acclaimed Homegrown English is its guidebook. Linguistic tour guide Jeffrey McQuain serves up anecdotes and little-known facts along the way as he tells the engaging and informative story of how the idiosyncrasies of the American character shaped the American language.

From Native American terms to current coinages, the American vocabulary mirrors both the strengths and the weaknesses of our national character. McQuain demonstrates how our invention of words matches our distinctive American traits -- from tall-talking (absquatulation) to creativity (mixologist) to downright orneriness (dad-blasted). Along the way, Homegrown English shows us who we were, who we are now, and who we may be in this new millennium.