This is the Babylon version of full text of Simple English Wikipedia which contains 127,000 articles. A neat, colorful, and pleasant glossary. Less than 5000 words are used in it. Very good for language learners.
Why Do We Say...?: Words and Sayings and Where They Come from
Added by: Anonymous | Karma: | Linguistics, Dictionaries and Encyclopedias | 12 April 2013
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Why do we say a person is a 'wally'? Or makes money 'hand over fist'? Or is the 'spitting image' of someone else? Why is a 'loo' so called? Why do we 'take a rain-check'? Why shouldn't you 'teach your grandmother to suck eggs'? These are the sort of questions that normal dictionaries duck out of by saying 'orig. obsc.' or 'orig. uncert.' or 'orig. unknown'. The purpose of Why Do We Say . . . ? is to compare the many explanations on offer and to test them, even if in the end it serves to emphasize that in this field hard and fast conclusions are difficult to come by.
The English language contains a rich store of idioms that can be used in creative and forceful ways. This book examines over 400 such phrases, tracing each one's source and history through the chronological use of examples. While maintaining scholarly accuracy, the authors inspire the reader with their love and enthusiasm for the curiosities of the English language. Linda and Roger Flavell's books include The Chronology of Words and Phrases, Dictionary of Word Origins, and Dictionary of Proverbs and Their Origins.
Added by: BookLover707 | Karma: 92.28 | Dictionaries and Encyclopedias, Software | 9 April 2013
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Dictionary of Psychology for Babylon
Written by a leading authority, with the assistance of a distinguished team of advisory editors, Oxfd Dictionary of Psychology is a comprehensive dictionary which is essential reading for professional psychologists, psychiatrists, counsellors, and students of psychology and related disciplines such as nursing, sociology, social work, and education.
