textgoeshere

This classic book is dedicated to Dr Onions. Onions was the original editor of the Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. Allegedly, the book’s authority gave rise to the phrase, “knowing one’s onions”.

That gives you some kind of background to the author, Eric Partridge. When the first edition was published in 1947, scholars were scholars. The standard set by Usage and Abusage is extremely high. However, Partridge is not a stuffy, conservative, nit-picker. He is witty, progressive, and clear. He wears his wisdom lightly.

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Just browsing the examples is an education in itself. Coleridge jostles with Ruskin, Georgette Heyer with Keats. But there are plenty entertaining samples of the popular literature of the time, too. Here’s a quote from the first page:

aberration is not a synonym of absentmindedness, as John G. Brandon makes it in The Mail-Van Mystery. ‘Once, in a moment of temporary aberration, Mr Dogan drew a huge, hook-bladed knife from a hidden sheath, felt its razor-like edge carefully with a black and calloused thumb, then returned it with every sign of satisfaction.’

Should I ever be absent-minded enough to forget about “aberration”, Partridge will be there to remind me with a huge, hook-bladed knife.

He’s nothing if not provocative. Here’s another gem:

PLURALS, SNOB… [W]hen at the zoo, you hear a man, who doesn’t know the difference between a jaguar and a cougar, say to his son, aged seven, “Just look at those two lion, Willie!”, you feel that snobbery has become a symptom of ‘the larger lunacy’.

But Partidge doesn’t just demolish linguistic abuse and confusion. He also offers constructive advice. Nearly 60 years on, it’s still relevant. It’s a wonderful book. Anyone who loves English should own it.

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