the.com/textbook
A book designed to be bought new, used once, and sold back for 10 cents.
means A standard instructional book used to teach a subject in school or college, typically packed with facts, exercises, and diagrams.
from A straightforward 18th-century compound of 'text' (the main body of written material) and 'book' — originally referring to a book with wide margins left blank for students to add notes to the printed 'text.' The 'perfect example of its kind' sense (as in 'a textbook case') came later, once the word had settled into meaning something standard, model, or by-the-rules.
- edition scam
- Page numbers shuffle yearly to kill resale value
- true cost
- Often pricier per pound than lobster
- irony
- Teaches economics while exploiting a captive market
- afterlife
- Ends up unread, highlighted only on page one