Amazon.com description: Product Description: Do you know ... why a mortgage is literally a death pledge? why guns have girls' names? why salt is related to soldier?You're about to find out.The Etymologicon e-tə-'ma-la-ji-kan is: Witty wi-tē Full of clever humor Erudite er-ə-ˌdīt: Showing knowledge Ribald ri-bəld: Crude, offensiveThe Etymologicon is a completely unauthorized guide to the strange underpinnings of the English language. It explains how you get from "gruntled" to "disgruntled"; why you are absolutely right to believe that your meager salary barely covers "money for salt"; how the biggest chain of coffee shops in the world (hint: Seattle) connects to whaling in Nantucket; and what precisely the Rolling Stones have to do with gardening.