This is the perennially popular, witty and entertaining guidebook to thousands of linguistic fig leaves and intentionally vague terms that we all say, write and

We all use euphemisms every day. We speak of "full-figured" women. We "fudge" on our income tax. We step lively to avoid "horse apples"--and step even livelier

This complete summary packed with colorful and educational anecdotes offers information about the odd origins of such diverse words and phrases as condom, sirlo

With nearly 6,000 quotations arranged historically and annotated extensively, you'll know not just who said what, but get the full story behind the quote. Follo