Bagels, Bumf, and Buses A Day in the Life of the English Language

Where do our everyday words come from? The bagel you eat for breakfast, the bumf you have to wade through at the office, and the bus that takes you home again: we use these words without thinking about their origins or how their meanings have changed over time. Simon Horobin takes the reader on a journey through a typical day, showing how the words we use to describe routine activities - getting up, going to work, eating meals - have surprisingly fascinating histories.

Simon Horobin is Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Magdalen College. He is the author of The English Language: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2018), How English Became English (OUP, 2016), and Does Spelling Matter? (OUP, 2013). He has appeared as an English language expert on radio and television programmes such as Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show and Radio 4's Stephen Fry's English Delight.

Starting the Day
1. Getting up
2. Breakfasting
3. Getting dressed
4. Commuting
Work
5. The office
6. Law and Order
7. Politics
8. Religion
9. Health services
10. Parenting
Eating and drinking
11. Breaktimes
12. Mealtimes
13. Eating out
Sport and leisure
14. Sport
15. Animals
Evening
16. Going out
17. Drinking
18. Staying in