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-'mä-lä-ji-kän is:
Witty wi-tē: Full of clever humor
Erudite er-ə-dīt: Showing knowledge
Ribald ri-bəld: Crude, offensive
The 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.