Author Description

The man to ask is the Word Detective, aka Evan Morris, who is in and open for business. This collection of Morris's language columns, which appear in newspapers worldwide and on his award-winning Web site, cracks the case on hundreds of perplexing words and phrases. Fielding questions from his loyal readers with his distinctive brand of humor and unique approach to language, Morris hears from Sean via the Internet, who wants to know if nerd made its first appearance on Happy Days. (Morris, however, traces it back further-to Theodor Geisel, otherwise known as Dr. Seuss.) Ryan M. isn't quite sure if being caught red-handed is a reference to dye bombs put in bags of money that detonate when stolen. (The word Detective explains that it came into use during the 15th century, when the blood on the murderer's hands gave him away.) Laura V. is under the impression that a potboiler is a book that can be read while waiting for a pot to boil. (Morris relieves her of this misassumption by explaining that a potboiler is written by a writer in desperate need of something to boil in a pot.)