cover image I Didn't Know That: From ""Ants in the Pants"" to ""Wet Behind the Ears""--The Unusual Origins of the Things We Say

I Didn't Know That: From ""Ants in the Pants"" to ""Wet Behind the Ears""--The Unusual Origins of the Things We Say

. Scribner Book Company, $11 (156pp) ISBN 978-1-4165-3238-5

This handy reference provides history for a slew of terms and turns of phrases Americans use nearly every day. A Tennessee radio producer and on-air personality, Evins has been ""collecting words, phrases, and expressions"" for decades, and even self-published a version of this book nearly 15 years ago. Here, she expands on her original, starting at ""A-1"" (""More than a steak sauce...it was the highest rating that could be given a ship insured by Lloyd's of London"") and ending with ""zipper"" (""trademarked by B.F. Goodrich in 1925...for a new line of waterproof overshoes""). Among others, Evins covers ""peanut gallery,"" which originally referred ""to the cheap seats...in the theaters of the Gay Nineties""; ""fighting fire with fire,"" to try containing one prairie blaze by setting another; and ""mind your p's and q's,"" dating back either to British pubs serving both pints and quarts, or to the early days of printing, when typesetters occasionally confused the two letters. In clear, brief and tidy prose, Evins provides interesting, occasionally fascinating tidbits for one English idiom after another, making this a small treasure trove for word-junkies, crossword puzzlers and other armchair linguists.