Download or read book Totally Weird and Wonderful Words written by Erin McKean and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006-10-23 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you know what a snollygoster is? Would you eat something called a muktuk? Do you know anyone who engages in onolatry? Impress your friends and pepper your dinner party conversations with such nuggets as gobemouche, mumpsimus, and cachinnate. You can learn about all of these bizarre and beautiful words and many more in Totally Weird and Wonderful Words. Both witty and entertaining, this new paperback brings together two best-selling compendiums to all words unique and strange, Weird and Wonderful Words and More Weird and Wonderful Words. Offering a potpourri of colorful and fascinating words compiled by noted lexicographer Erin McKean, it contains hundreds of definitions, and has been updated to include two new essays, with over 150 words new to this edition. Written in a clear and conversational style, the book contains full-page cartoon illustrations by Roz Chast and Danny Shanahan. Featuring hundreds of words guaranteed to amuse and astonish, this is a book that will appeal to logophiles everywhere. It also features a bibliography of Oxford dictionaries and a guide to creating your own unusual words correctly from Greek and Latin roots. Smart and funny and with just a touch of whimsy, Totally Weird and Wonderful Words is the perfect book for reading in your sitooterie with a bumbo in your hand while mavises sing in your ear.
Download or read book Weird and Wonderful Words written by Erin McKean and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2002 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lists the meaning of hundreds of bizarre and unusual words and includes a guide to coining new words.
Download or read book More Weird and Wonderful Words written by Erin McKean and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2003 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title digs deep into forgotten corners of the dictionary, gathering both the most spectacular old and the most impressive new words. The result is more than 400 prime specimens with pronunciations, defined in a conversational style.
Download or read book Wordcatcher written by Phil Cousineau and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-03-15 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who knew that the great country of Canada is named for a mistake? How about "bedswerver," the best Elizabethan insult to hurl at a cheating boyfriend? By exploring the delightful back stories of the 250 words in Wordcatcher, readers are lured by language and entangled in etymologies. Author Phil Cousineau takes us on a tour into the obscure territory of word origins with great erudition and endearing curiosity. The English poet W. H. Auden was once asked to teach a poetry class, and when 200 students applied to study with him, he only had room for 20 of them. When asked how he chose his students, he said he picked the ones who actually loved words. So too, with this book — it takes a special wordcatcher to create a treasure chest of remarkable words and their origins, and any word lover will relish the stories that Cousineau has discovered.
Download or read book The Secret Lives of Dresses written by Erin McKean and published by 5 Spot. This book was released on 2011-02-10 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When her grandmother has a stroke, Dora returns to the small town where she grew up to take over her family's vintage clothing store -- and meets a handsome contractor. Is he interested in Dora? Or is he working from a different blueprint? Dora has always taken the path of least resistance. She went to the college that offered her a scholarship, majoring in "vagueness studies," and wears whatever shows the least dirt. She falls into a job at the college coffee shop and has a crush on her flirty boss, Gary. But just when she's about to test Gary's feelings, Mimi, the grandmother who raised her, suffers a stroke. Dora rushes back to Forsyth, NC, and finds herself running her grandmother's vintage clothing store while her grandmother recovers -- andmeets Mimi's adorable contractor, Conrad. The store has always been a fixture in Dora's life; though she grew up more of a jeans-and-sweatshirt kind of girl, before she even knew how to write, Mimi taught her that a vintage 1920s dress could lift a woman's spirit. But why has Mimi started writing down -- and giving away -- stories of the dresses in her shop? Amidst personal and professional turmoil, can Dora can trade her boring clothes for vintage glamour and her boring life for one she actually wants?
Download or read book The Hidden History of Coined Words written by Ralph Keyes and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-02-19 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Successful word-coinages--those that stay in currency for a good long time--tend to conceal their beginnings. We take them at face value and rarely when and where they were first minted. Engaging, illuminating, and authoritative, Ralph Keyes's The Hidden History of Coined Words explores the etymological underworld of terms and expressions and uncovers plenty of hidden gems. He also finds some fascinating patterns, such as that successful neologisms are as likely to be created by chance as by design. A remarkable number of new words were coined whimsically, originally intended to troll or taunt. Knickers, for example, resulted from a hoax; big bang from an insult. Casual wisecracking produced software, crowdsource, and blog. More than a few resulted from happy accidents, such as typos, mistranslations, and mishearing (bigly and buttonhole), or from being taken entirely out of context (robotics). Neologizers (a Thomas Jefferson coinage) include not just scholars and writers but cartoonists, columnists, children's book authors. Wimp originated with a book series, as did goop, and nerd from a book by Dr. Seuss. Coinages are often contested, controversy swirling around such terms as gonzo, mojo, and booty call. Keyes considers all contenders, while also leading us through the fray between new word partisans, and those who resist them strenuously. He concludes with advice about how to make your own successful coinage. The Hidden History of Coined Words will appeal not just to word mavens but history buffs, trivia contesters, and anyone who loves the immersive power of language.
Download or read book Semantics and Cultural Change in the British Enlightenment New Words and Old written by Carey McIntosh and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-05-18 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A study of English semantics during the Enlightenment. New words 1650–1800 reflect the new middle-class culture of sociability, commerce, and science. Old mostly obsolete words illuminate the realities of working-class life, exhausting labor, dirt, outrageous sexism, magic, horses, bizarre food.
Download or read book Elderspeak written by James L. Reynolds MD and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2014-01-08 with total page 493 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are many words relating to old age, aging, and the elderly, and this compendium of words seeks to help you understand almost two thousand of them. Most of these words are unusual, rare, obsolete, archaic, wonderful, marvelous, arcane, and even preposterous. All of them apply to the aged, a group that makes up an increasing portion of the populationparticularly in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Here are just a few of the interesting words youll learn: Cenotaph: a monument erected as a memorial to a dead person or dead people buried elsewhere, especially those killed fighting a war Lethonomia: a tendency to forget, or inability to recall, names Oligoria: disinterest in former friends or hobbies Listed alphabetically with pronunciation keys, the words are categorized under forty-eight headings. For example, in the end-of-life category, youll find the word feuillemorte, which is the wan, yellow color of death. Under retirement, youll find ecesis, which is the acclimatization to retirement, and Opagefaengris, a prison for retired male criminals in Singen, Germany. Boost your vocabulary, indulge in a love of language, and improve the way you communicate with seniors and medical professionals. It starts with learning ElderSpeak.
Download or read book What is English written by Tim William Machan and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2013-08-23 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is English? Can we be as certain as we usually are when we say something is not English? To find some answers Tim Machan explores the language's present and past, and looks ahead to its futures among the one and a half billion people who speak it. His search is fascinating and important, for definitions of English have influenced education and law in many countries and helped shape the identities of those who live in them. Finding an account that fits the constantly changing varieties of English is, Tim Machan finds, anything but simple. But he rises to the challenge, grappling with its elusive essence through episodes in its history. He looks at the ambitions of Caxton, the preoccupations of Johnson, and the eloquence of Churchill, tussles with the jargons of contemporary business, and pursues his object from rural America to James Cook's Australia. He examines creoles, pidgins, and dialects, and takes apart competing histories showing their assumptions and prejudices. Finally he reveals the stable category English, resting paradoxically within its constantly mutating forms and varieties. This is a book for everyone interested in English and the role of language in society and culture.
Download or read book Bethumpt the Best and Worst of the W rdos written by Jerry Reedy and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2019-10-18 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Bethumpt The Best and Worst of the Wördos” is a collaborative effort of Jerry Reedy, Ph.D. and Professor Emeritus of Classical Languages and Fred Webber, B.A., Journalism. The authors hope this book will give readers an understanding of the origin of words and their past and present meanings and usage. They also hope readers will enjoy the book. It’s not intended to be pedantic or instructional... just interesting and sometimes fun. Both authors belong to Wördos, a group of people who meet monthly to talk about the often careless use of English in the media. We believe that the failure to write clearly jeopardizes understanding and believability, and that writing well is important in establishing credibility and competence. There’s more about the Wördos in the book. And speaking of the book, if you’re wondering about the origin of “Bethumpt,” you’ll have to buy the book to find out!
Download or read book Ben Rothery s Weird and Wonderful Animals written by Ben Rothery and published by Tilbury House Publishers and Cadent Publishing. This book was released on 2024-02-15 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A stunning visual exploration of what it takes to be counted among the weirdest, most incredible animals on Earth. From the bone-crunching bearded vulture to the venomous platypus, many of the creatures featured here are undeniably weird. But readers of this field guide-like picture book will learn that what makes an axolotl or flying snake so strange, to humans at least, is often exactly what helps it to survive in its habitat. Award-winning illustrator Ben Rothery's fact-filled book of the planet's weirdest, most wonderful creatures explores the scene.
Download or read book Is That a Word written by David Bukszpan and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 2012-09-19 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scrabble® aficionados may know that both "Brr" and "Brrr" are legitimate plays, but what about everyday names like Peter, Carl, and Marge? They're not listed as proper nouns, but they are certainly playable. For lovers of Scrabble®, Bananagrams®, and Words with Friends®, this lively guide helps readers make the most out of word games, packed with new ways to remember the best words alongside tips for improving game play and much more. Part strategy guide and part celebration of all things wordy, this collection of facts, tips, and surprising lists of playable words will instruct and delight the letterati.
Download or read book Language Awareness written by Paul Eschholz and published by Macmillan Higher Education. This book was released on 2013-02-08 with total page 628 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Immediately and universally relevant, language is the ideal theme to explore in a composition course. Language Awareness collects contemporary and classic readings about language that not only make students more aware of its uses and more capable of analyzing its effects, but also help them to deploy language more effectively in their own writing. New coverage in the eleventh edition provides even more advice on critical reading and working with sources, while a new organization focuses each short chapter on a single, cohesive theme. In addition, insightful "Language in Action" activities help students connect what they learn about language to what they observe in their daily lives.
Download or read book Copy Editor written by and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Doormat Of English written by Hemant Katara and published by BFC Publications. This book was released on 2021-08-28 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reading a book is the best way of increasing vocabulary. The more you read, the better you speak. Reading helps in consolidating your understanding of grammar. The Doormate of English takes the reader on a ride of interesting, fun – filled and crazy side of English language. The book comprises of all the unusual topics of English and helps the readers in increasing their word power and skills. It makes you familiar with the foreign terms and foreign proverbs commonly used in English language. Tongue twisters will challenge you to try to say them at a fast pace and word pyramids will make you wonder about the magical side of English language. The book is filled with several other interesting topics like oxymorons, apheresis, pangrams, lipograms, palindromes, emordnilap, manias, phobias and many more. This book will make reading a fun exercise for the readers. It will help the readers in developing different perspective to English language and will provide them a lot of knowledge and information which can be really very beneficial for them. It will make you familiar with the words with only vowels to the longest English words. Readers will get to know about the major differences between the American and British English terms. Hopefully the books will help the readers in enhancing their language skills.
Download or read book Say What written by Gena K. Gorrell and published by Tundra Books. This book was released on 2012-12-18 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than a million words, weird spellings, words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently or vice versa. Where on Earth did the English language come from? The answer is that English isn’t just the speech of one nation. It’s the memory of thousands of years of history. It tracks the places people came from, the places they went, the adventures they had, the friends and enemies they made, the battles they won and lost. As English changed and grew, it became a jumble of sounds, words, and rules from countless languages and nations. And it’s still changing and growing every day. More than seventy percent of all English words were born someplace other than England. That’s why English can be so confusing and inconsistent. And that’s why English is the richest, most international, and most versatile language in the world. This innovative book takes us on a journey through time to unravel and demystify the story of English. Word games, intriguing facts, and tricky quizzes add an element of fun while enriching readers’ knowledge and understanding.
Download or read book The Magazine The Complete Archives written by Glenn Fleishman and published by Aperiodical LLC. This book was released on 2015-08-12 with total page 1814 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This ebook collects the nearly 300 stories that first appeared in The Magazine, an independent biweekly periodical for narrative non-fiction. It covers researchers "crying wolf," learning to emulate animal sounds; DIY medical gear, making prosthetics and other tools available more cheaply and to the developing world; a fever in Japan that leads to a new friendship; saving seeds to save the past; the plan to build a giant Lava Lamp in eastern Oregon; Portland's unicycle-riding, Darth Vader mask-wearing, flaming bagpipe player; a hidden library at MIT that contains one of the most extensive troves of science fiction and fantasy novels and magazines in the world; and far, far more.
