In day-to-day speech we use words and phrases without a passing thought as to why we use them or where they come from. Max Cryer changes all that by showing how fascinating the English language really is. Did you know that the former host of Today, Jane Pauley, claims to have coined the term âbad hair day,â or that a CBS engineer named Charley Douglass invented the name and use of âcanned laughterâ for television, or that âcold turkeyâ as a term for quitting something immediately was popularized by the novel and movie (starring Frank Sinatra), The Man with the Golden Arm? Here youâll learn the origins of âcredibility gap,â âmy lips are sealed,â âthe operaâs not over until the fat lady sings,â âsupermarket,â âsupermodel,â âthereâs no accounting for taste,â âthick as thieves,â and hundreds more. For anyone who loves language, this new book will âtake the cake.â