The word "blurb" derives from a "pulchritudinous young lady" of that fictional name who appeared on a book-cover at the turn of the century. Quarrying the "Oxford English Dictionary" for its evidence, this book traces the extraordinary way in which English words have changed their meanings.

Words are simultaneously fossils in which the culture of the past is stored, and vital organisms responsive to the pressures of the present. They do not change their meanings in an entirely arbitrary fashion, but form a revealing segment of social evidence.