Following on from his hit bestseller Balderdash and Piffle Alex Games delves even further into the fascinating, provocative and often astonishing world of language and etymology.

From the intoxicating language of celebrity magazines to the shadowy double figure of the euphemism, Games traces the evolution of Greek and Latin wordplay into a sometimes baffling contemporary jargon.

Who was Fanny Adams? Why have dogs, previously man’s best friend, become an even better friend during an exchange of insults? And when did "randy" stop meaning "aggressive behaviour?" Games answers all of these questions and more in a light-hearted, compelling account of words and their meanings.

Drawing together sources as diverse as Elvis Presley, Shakespeare and the military, Games fondly recalls the trends, innovations and scandals that have produced some of our most loved – and least thought-about – words and phrases.