From aardvark to zenzizenzizenzic, Word Drops collects a thousand obscure words and language facts in one fascinating chain of word associations. Did you know, for example, that scandal derives from the Latin for ?stumbling block? and originally described a trap for a wild animal? In nineteenth-century slang a wolf trap was a corrupt casino. Casino means ?little house? in Italian. Roulette means ?little wheel? in French. A wheeler is someone who attends auctions to bid on items merely to increase their sale price. Such...