Competition: Win tickets to see Henry Hitchings and Libby Purves at the British Library

…We may well enjoy knowing that botulism comes from a Latin word for sausage, that muscle is related to mouse (a bunched muscle being a bit like a quivering mouse), or that mortgage literally means death grip; in each case the link is unexpected and droll. An album is, in the strict etymological sense, something white, like a blank writing tablet, and to prevaricate means to plough crookedly.

Extract from Henry Hitching’s The Secret Life of Words

Win a pair of tickets to LANGUAGE WARS at the British Library

What is proper English? And why do people care so much? Libby Purves is ringmaster as Henry Hitchings, Simon Heffer and slam poetry champion Disraeli wrestle over the future of our language.

To win one of two pairs of tickets to the debate on 7 February, please send your details to competitions@theomnivore.co.uk

The closing date is 4 February.

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