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Author: Barbara Wallraff Publisher: Harper Collins ISBN: 0061758701 Category : Language Arts & Disciplines Languages : en Pages : 208
Book Description
Despite the many thousands of dictionary words at our disposal, our language can be dismayingly inadequate. How many times have you searched for a word that means just what you want it to but failed to find anything suitable anywhere? Most of us, it turns out, lead lives rife with experiences, people, and things that have no names. At least, they lacked names until now. Word Fugitives comes to the rescue, supplying hundreds of inspired words coined or redefined to meet everyday needs. For instance, wouldn't it be handy to have a word for the momentary confusion people experience when they hear a cell phone ringing and wonder whether it's theirs? (How about fauxcellarm, phonundrum, or pandephonium?) Or what about a word for offspring who are adults? (Try unchildren or offsprung.) Or a word for the irrational fear when you're throwing a party that no one will show up? (That might be guestlessness, empty-fest syndrome, or fete-alism.) This mind- and vocabulary-expanding book grew out -- way out -- of Barbara Wallraff's popular column in The Atlantic Monthly. Brimming with irresistible diversions and pop quizzes; illuminated by contributions and commentary from authors, linguists, and leading language authorities; and enlivened by pleas for help from people whose words have yet to be found, Word Fugitives will captivate and inspire anyone who ever struggles to describe the world that he or she, or they, or thon (thon? see page 141) lives in.
Author: Barbara Wallraff Publisher: Harper Collins ISBN: 0061758701 Category : Language Arts & Disciplines Languages : en Pages : 208
Book Description
Despite the many thousands of dictionary words at our disposal, our language can be dismayingly inadequate. How many times have you searched for a word that means just what you want it to but failed to find anything suitable anywhere? Most of us, it turns out, lead lives rife with experiences, people, and things that have no names. At least, they lacked names until now. Word Fugitives comes to the rescue, supplying hundreds of inspired words coined or redefined to meet everyday needs. For instance, wouldn't it be handy to have a word for the momentary confusion people experience when they hear a cell phone ringing and wonder whether it's theirs? (How about fauxcellarm, phonundrum, or pandephonium?) Or what about a word for offspring who are adults? (Try unchildren or offsprung.) Or a word for the irrational fear when you're throwing a party that no one will show up? (That might be guestlessness, empty-fest syndrome, or fete-alism.) This mind- and vocabulary-expanding book grew out -- way out -- of Barbara Wallraff's popular column in The Atlantic Monthly. Brimming with irresistible diversions and pop quizzes; illuminated by contributions and commentary from authors, linguists, and leading language authorities; and enlivened by pleas for help from people whose words have yet to be found, Word Fugitives will captivate and inspire anyone who ever struggles to describe the world that he or she, or they, or thon (thon? see page 141) lives in.
Author: Paul McFedries Publisher: Crown ISBN: 076791807X Category : Reference Languages : en Pages : 434
Book Description
Language wears many hats, but its most important job is to help us name or describe what's in the world. Words define us, our actions, even our existence. And just when you think that you have all the words you need, you discover new ones, hear new uses for old ones or see them mutate right before your eyes—a neologism is born. Those neologisms are actually one of the best ways of keeping tabs on the way our world and culture are changing. One of the people who's been keeping tabs is Paul McFedries, the president of Logophilia Limited (logophilia is Greek for "the love of words"). His scorecard is Word Spy, a daily newsletter that has been reporting from the neological frontier since 1998 and that has more than 100,000 visitors a month and more than 12 million page views. In Word Spy, McFedries demonstrates how new words both reflect and illuminate not only the subcultures that coin them but also the larger culture in which these groups exist. Neologisms give us insight into the way things are even as they act as linguistic harbingers of what's to come. Each chapter of Word Spy is a cultural snapshot, a slice of the zeitgeist that focuses on a specific idea or sociological phenomenon, with an emphasis on the words and phrases that it has generated. These snapshots cover various aspects of modern life, including relationships, business, technology, war, aging, multiculturalism, and even fast food, all the while introducing us to hybrid words: If your kids can't seem to get away from their computers, they may be addicted to "fritterware" (time-wasting game software). If you're a new mother with a passion for petitioning, you may be a "lactivist" (breast-feeding activist). And if you keep finding yourself staying way later at the office than you ever imagined, you may be suffering from "presenteeism." Word Spy is an exciting and informative travelogue through the evolving landscape of our language and, consequently, the cultures and subcultures that continually mold and shape not just the language but all of us who speak it.
Author: James Hastings Publisher: The Minerva Group, Inc. ISBN: 9781410217240 Category : Reference Languages : en Pages : 464
Book Description
For over a century the ten-volume Dictionary of the Bible has been the definitive reference. "It is a Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, together with the Old Testament Apocrypha, according to the Authorized and Revised English Versions, and with constant reference to the original tongues. ... Articles have been written on the names of all Persons and Places, on the Antiquities and Archaeology of the Bible, on its Ethnology, Geology, and Natural History, on Biblical Theology and Ethic, and even on the obsolete or archaic words occurring in the English Versions." James Hastings (1852-1922) was a distinguished scholar and pastor. He was founder and editor of the Expository Times and is also well known for editing the Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, the Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, and the Dictionary of the Apostolic Church.
Author: Douglas Adams Publisher: Pan Macmillan ISBN: 1447262603 Category : Humor Languages : en Pages : 242
Book Description
The Meaning of Liff has sold hundreds of thousands of copies since it was first published in 1983, and remains a much-loved humour classic. This edition has been revised and updated, and includes The Deeper Meaning of Liff, giving fresh appeal to Douglas Adams and John Lloyd's entertaining and witty dictionary. In life, there are hundreds of familiar experiences, feelings and objects for which no words exist, yet hundreds of strange words are idly loafing around on signposts, pointing at places. The Meaning of Liff connects the two. BERRIWILLOCK (n.) - An unknown workmate who writes 'All the best' on your leaving card. ELY (n.) - The first, tiniest inkling that something, somewhere has gone terribly wrong. GRIMBISTER (n.) - Large body of cars on a motorway all travelling at exactly the speed limit because one of them is a police car. KETTERING (n.) - The marks left on your bottom or thighs after sunbathing on a wickerwork chair. OCKLE (n.) - An electrical switch which appears to be off in both positions. WOKING (ptcpl.vb.) - Standing in the kitchen wondering what you came in here for.
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Government Operations. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Publisher: ISBN: Category : Drugs Languages : en Pages : 2282
Author: Charles Harrington Elster Publisher: Macmillan ISBN: 0312612990 Category : Language Arts & Disciplines Languages : en Pages : 513
Book Description
""People judge you by the words you use." This has never been more true than in our text-driven world of quick communications and often sloppy language use. Word Workout is a practical book for building vocabulary--a graduated program featuring thousands of words that begins with words known by most college graduates and ascends to words known only by the most educated, intelligent, and well-read adults. The workout will be a comprehensive program, chock-full of information about synonyms, antonyms, and word origins, and replete with advice on proper usage and pronunciation. There will be creative review quizzes at each step of the way and longer review tests after each level to reinforce learning. Unlike other vocabulary books, Word Workout provides a complete learning experience, with clear explanations of meanings, word histories, usages, pronunciation, and more. Far more than a cram session for a standardized test, the book is designed as a lifetime vocabulary builder, teaching a vocabulary shared by only the top percentage of Americans, with a proven method that helps the knowledge last. From "awoval" to "proselytize," from "demagogue" to "mendicant," Charles Elster has carefully picked the words you need to know, and given you an easy, fast, and fail-safe way to learn and remember them"--
Author: Barbara Wallraff Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt ISBN: 0544109937 Category : Language Arts & Disciplines Languages : en Pages : 336
Book Description
The “witty and accessible” bestseller by the Atlantic Monthly editor who rules on linguistic disputes (San Francisco Chronicle). Atlantic Monthly senior editor Barbara Wallraff first began answering grammar questions on AOL in the 1990s, and the site’s success soon morphed into a regular magazine feature. In Word Court, Wallraff moves beyond her column to preside over common and uncommon cases, establishing rules for such issues as turns of phrase, slang, name usage, punctuation, and newly coined vocabulary. With true wit, she deliberates and decides on the right path for lovers of language, ranging from classic questions (is “a historical” or “an historical” correct?) to awkward issues (How long does someone have to be dead before we should all stop calling her “the late”?). The result is a warmly humorous, reassuring, and brilliantly perceptive tour of how and why we speak the way we do. “A logophile’s delight.” —San Diego Union-Tribune “Her approach to language is a beguiling mix of charm and research” —USA Today
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Government Reform Publisher: ISBN: Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 1182
Author: Barbara Wallraff
Author: Barbara Wallraff
Author: Paul McFedries
Author: James Hastings
Author: Douglas Adams
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Government Operations. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
Author: Charles Harrington Elster
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Governmental Operations Committee
Author: Barbara Wallraff
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Government Reform
Author: James Hastings