For thirty years Verbatim: The Language Quarterly has published amusing, interesting and occasionally useful essays on concept, usage, jargon, wordplay, lexicography, linguistics, blunders, malapropisms and anything else remotely tied to the English language. Here, collected for the first time, are some of the most fascinating, funniest and strangest pieces that first debuted in its pages. Verbatim is a smart and sassy collection for anyone seeking the highly scholarly or the completely frivolous. From the roots of medieval words to the components of a British football chant, Verbatim will offer something for every language lover and word nerd to enjoy.