The Hidden History of Coined Words

Ralph Keyes

Written by one of the best-known authorities of the subject, himself a coiner of considerable proportions (he coined "post-truth," for goodness sake!)
Filled with delightful and surprising discoveries about the origins of certain terms and words
More than just a collection of interesting word anecdotes, this is an engaging narrative about the nature of coinage.

The Hidden History of Coined Words

Ralph Keyes

Description

Successful word-coinages — those that stay in currency for a good long time — tend to conceal their beginnings. We take them at face value and rarely when and where they were first minted. Engaging, illuminating, and authoritative, Ralph Keyes's The Hidden History of Coined Words explores the etymological underworld of terms and expressions and uncovers plenty of hidden gems.

He also finds some fascinating patterns, such as that successful neologisms are as likely to be created by chance as by design. A remarkable number of new words were coined whimsically, originally intended to troll or taunt. Knickers, for example, resulted from a hoax; big bang from an insult. Casual wisecracking produced software, crowdsource, and blog. More than a few resulted from happy accidents, such as typos, mistranslations, and mishearing (bigly and buttonhole), or from being taken entirely out of context (robotics). Neologizers (a Thomas Jefferson coinage) include not just scholars and writers but cartoonists, columnists, children's book authors. Wimp originated with a book series, as did goop, and nerd from a book by Dr. Seuss. Coinages are often contested, controversy swirling around such terms as gonzo, mojo, and booty call. Keyes considers all contenders, while also leading us through the fray between new word partisans, and those who resist them strenuously. He concludes with advice about how to make your own successful coinage.

The Hidden History of Coined Words will appeal not just to word mavens but history buffs, trivia contesters, and anyone who loves the immersive power of language.

The Hidden History of Coined Words

Ralph Keyes

1. Zen and the Art of Word Creation
2. Coined by Chance
3. Casual Coinage
4. Just Kidding
5. Prankery
6. Taunt Terms I: Euro
7. Taunt Terms II: U.S.
8. Coins in Bubbles
9. Ink-Stained Word Coiners
10. Kiddie Lit
11. Naming the Future
12. Literary Lingo
13. Ivy-covered Words
14. Coined with Intent
15. Nonstarters
16. Van Winkle Words
17. Disputation
18. Word Wars
19. Coiner's Remorse
20. You Too Can Coin a Word
Bibliography
Notes
Acknowledgments

The Hidden History of Coined Words

Ralph Keyes

Author Information

Ralph Keyes, Author of "The Post Truth Era"

Ralph Keyes is the author of several books, including The Post-Truth Era, cited by Oxford Dictionaries as a primary source for their 2016 "Word of the Year." Keyes has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, The Tonight Show, ABC World News Tonight, and 20/20 (twice). He has been interviewed on All Things Considered, Talk of the Nation, On the Media, and Fresh Air, and has written for Esquire, GQ, Good Housekeeping, Glamour, Newsweek, Parade, Sports Illustrated, Harper's, and The American Scholar, where he also wrote a column on language. He now lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Muriel.

The Hidden History of Coined Words

Ralph Keyes

Reviews and Awards

"Ralph Keyes is a legend for his accurate and very entertaining books about language. Now, in The Hidden History of Coined Words, he has written the best book ever produced on the fascinating stories and processes of how new words are created." - Fred Shapiro, Editor of The New Yale Book of Quotations

"Ralph Keyes looks at the history of coined words to explore how creativity itself works in language. Few word books are both this entertaining and this accurate; even fewer also manage to say anything new. This riveting book does it all." - Jesse Sheidlower, Former Editor at Large of the Oxford English Dictionary and past president of the American Dialect Society

"If my reaction is typical, people will start reading and not be able to put it down. It's very witty and learned — and interesting!" - Landon Y. Jones, author of The Essential Lewis and Clark

"The Hidden History of Coined Words is filled with intriguing information. Anyone who loves words, the history of language, or well-told stories will be glad they read this fascinating book." - Rosalie Maggio, author of How to Say It: Choice Words, Phrases, Sentences & Paragraphs for Every Situation

The Hidden History of Coined Words

Ralph Keyes

From Our Blog

Do you know how these words were coined? [Quiz]

Successful word-coinages'those that stay in lingual currency for a good, long time'tend to conceal their beginnings. In The Hidden History of Coined Words, author and word sleuth Ralph Keyes explores the etymological underworld of terms and expressions and uncovers plenty of hidden gems.

Posted on May 13, 2021

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Do you know the hidden histories of these words? [Quiz]

Successful word-coinages'those that stay in lingual currency for a good, long time'tend to conceal their beginnings. In "The Hidden History of Coined Words," author and word sleuth Ralph Keyes explores the etymological underworld of terms and expressions and uncovers plenty of hidden gems. Take our quiz and see how many hidden histories you know!

Posted on March 28, 2021

Read the blog post