Jeremy Marshall

Why is "f" used instead of "s" in old-fashioned writing and printing? What does "corned" mean in "corned beef?" How many words are there in the English language? Is the correct plural of "octopus" spelled "octopuses" or "octopi"? Since the Oxford Word and Language Service (OWLS, for short) was launc...

Captain Hook has been captured by the British navy—and is soon to be hung.As Hook tells his life story to his captor, it soon becomes clear that the fearsome pirate was once a scholarly, if sickly boy—until one fateful night in Port Royal, when he meets the volatile Peter Pan ...Raise the Jolly Roge...

Captain James Hook is lustful for vengeance—but how far is he prepared to go?Consumed by a burning hatred, Hook will stop at nothing to enact his terrible revenge on his nemesis, Peter Pan. Arriving in Neverland, he finds himself in a hellish kingdom that obeys none of the laws of the universe. Wors...

Tolkien's first job, on returning home from World War I, was as an assistant on the staff of the OED. He later said that he had "learned more in those two years than in any other equal part of his life." The Ring of Words reveals how his professional work on the Oxford English Dictionary influenced ...

Ring of Words Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, USA, 2006.