Dog Days and Dandelions: A Lively Guide to the Animal Meanings Behind Everyday Words

From apian (like a bee) to zodiac (little-animals circle), a word book that spots the animal origins of words and names.

There are mice in your muscles, and blackbirds in your merlot. Behind adulation is a dog's wagging tail. Peculiar houses a herd of cattle. Grubby is crawling with bugs. Wordhound Martha Barnette collects more than 300 common (and a few not-so-common) words that have surprising animal roots. Tracing word origins back to ancient Greek and Latin as well as to European roots ...