Download or read book Sod s Law written by Sam Leith and published by Atlantic Books. This book was released on 2009-11-01 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To every explorer with his map upside down, to every air-traffic controller suddenly receiving Magic FM through his headphones, to every astronomer whose new planet turns out to be a bit of bran-flake on the eyepiece of his telescope, Sod's Law says: you are not alone. Sam Leith tells the hilarious—and painful—stories of the unsinkable boat that sunk, the unbeatable horse that lost, and the fireproof theater that burned to the ground. Sod's Law demonstrates that the entire universe is actually set up to ensure that your toast always lands butter side down and, what's more, that it lands precisely where the cat has shed hair all over the carpet. In this age of doubt, fewer and fewer of us are able to believe that a higher power takes an interest in our fate. This book reassures us that indeed it does—and that that higher power is hell bent on buggering things up. Only by laughing heartlessly at the misfortunes of others can we make ourselves feel better. Sod's Law enables us to do just that.
Download or read book An English French Dictionary of Clipped Words written by Fabrice Antoine and published by Peeters Publishers. This book was released on 2000 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dictionary deals with the little words which everyone uses every day without even noticing them and which are so liable to escape the grasp of a speaker of another language - clipped words, obtained by back-clipping or apocope (the dropping of one or more final syllables), by front-clipping or aphesis (the dropping of one or more final syllables), by the combination of these two processes and sometimes further transformed, especially in slang, by the addition of a new ending. The aim is not of course merely to list all these words and say from which longer words they were obtained; an attempt is made here to retrace the history of each of them, its stylistic, semantic and often morphological evolution, to illustrate this with authentic and often pungent or humorous quotations and also to show how each can be translated into the other language. Indeed this is an English-French bilingual dictionary, whose aim is to translate clipped words according to priciples of historical and register fidelity which bilingual dictionaries do not ordinarily set for this type of headword. Thus, clipped words will be shown to have meaning precisely because they are clipped; consequently, this meaning must be preserved and conveyed in translation. This dictionary thus aims at being different from traditional bilingual dictionaries, dictionaries of slang and colloquialisms included, in the structure and content of its articles, in which much space is devoted to the lexicological data, which inform the strictly lexicographical information. Special attention and care have been devoted to the system of cross-references, the recording and presentation of derived forms, variants and compounds and to the presentation of slang or colloquial synonyms of the headwords. The body of the dictionary is preceded by a preface in which the editing principles and methods are outlined and an attempt is made at analyzing the corpus : its historical, sociological and morphological aspects are reviewed, together with the motivations of those that coin or use clippings. These motivations appear essential to the proper appraisal of this body of slang and colloquial words; this dictionary's intention is to pay homage to all the unknown paople who have made the lexicon richer by playing with and on words, with joyful humour, zest and gusto. It is hoped that all lovers of words will have the same pleasure exploring this dictionary as its author had writing it. Professor Fabrice Antoine teaches English at the Universite Charles-de-Gaulle Lille III (France). His research fields are bilingual lexicography, lexicology and translation; he has been a consulting editor for a dozen bilingual dictionaries, general as well as slang ones. He is especially interested in French and English slang and colloquialisms and co-hairs ELEXTRA (Etudes sur le Lexique et la Traduction), a research centre at the University of Lille.
Download or read book Critical Thinking The Basics written by Stuart Hanscomb and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-09-19 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Critical Thinking: The Basics is an accessible and engaging introduction to the field of critical thinking, drawing on philosophy, communication and psychology. Emphasising its relevance to decision making (in personal, professional and civic life), academic literacy and personal development, this book supports the reader in understanding and developing the knowledge and skills needed to avoid poor reasoning, reconstruct and evaluate arguments, and engage constructively in dialogues. Topics covered include: the relationship between critical thinking, emotions and the psychology of persuasion the role of character dispositions such as open-mindedness, courage and perseverance argument identification and reconstruction fallacies and argument evaluation. With discussion questions/exercises and suggestions for further reading at the end of each main chapter, this book is an essential read for students approaching the field of critical thinking for the first time, and for the general reader wanting to improving their thinking skills and decision making abilities.
Download or read book An Idiot s Love of Idioms written by Nick Smethurst and published by Austin Macauley Publishers. This book was released on 2022-05-31 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ever wondered where the sayings we commonly use originate from? Sometimes the things we say, if we really think about it, make absolutely no logical sense. Why on earth has a cat got my tongue? Why does a wall have ears? And why the heck are my ears burning? Why would I possibly want to break a leg? If you think you know the answers, you might be close but have no cigar and if you don’t want to wake up on the wrong side of the bed or even worse, wait until you kick the bucket then you may want to step up to the plate and read on. Now I certainly don’t want to read the Riot Act on you and I think by hook or by crook if you read this book you’ll be happy as Larry and as pleased as Punch. I don’t want to be a clever clogs but by and large I think you’ll have a field day with what you’ll discover, if you catch my drift?
Download or read book White Teeth written by Zadie Smith and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2003-05-20 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The blockbuster debut novel from "a preternaturally gifted" writer (The New York Times) and author of On Beauty and Swing Time—set against London's racial and cultural tapestry, reveling in the ecstatic hodgepodge of modern life, flirting with disaster, and embracing the comedy of daily existence. Zadie Smith’s dazzling debut caught critics grasping for comparisons and deciding on everyone from Charles Dickens to Salman Rushdie to John Irving and Martin Amis. But the truth is that Zadie Smith’s voice is remarkably, fluently, and altogether wonderfully her own. At the center of this invigorating novel are two unlikely friends, Archie Jones and Samad Iqbal. Hapless veterans of World War II, Archie and Samad and their families become agents of England’s irrevocable transformation. A second marriage to Clara Bowden, a beautiful, albeit tooth-challenged, Jamaican half his age, quite literally gives Archie a second lease on life, and produces Irie, a knowing child whose personality doesn’t quite match her name (Jamaican for “no problem”). Samad’s late-in-life arranged marriage (he had to wait for his bride to be born), produces twin sons whose separate paths confound Iqbal’s every effort to direct them, and a renewed, if selective, submission to his Islamic faith. “[White Teeth] is, like the London it portrays, a restless hybrid of voices, tones, and textures…with a raucous energy and confidence.” —The New York Times Book Review
Download or read book The Language of Reality written by Dr. Thomas Stark and published by Magus Books. This book was released on with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The answer to existence is that existence is an eternal language, a language that solves itself, optimizes itself, perfects itself, and finally speaks to itself and tells itself exactly what it is. It is a language that becomes conscious of itself. It might seem as though humans became conscious through language, but in fact language became conscious through humans. In "The Selfish Gene", Richard Dawkins wrote, "We are survival machines - robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes. This is a truth which still fills me with astonishment." In fact, we are living language nodes of a living cosmic language that is using us to become conscious of itself. Because we are language beings, we create languages, and through languages we eventually arrive at the original language, the Ur Language, the language in which we ourselves are written and expressed. This is the numerical language of mathematics, the language of energy, of syntax and semantics … the language of mind.
Download or read book Omni s Wordsmith Mantra written by John T Hope and published by eBook Partnership. This book was released on 2021-10-01 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'OMNI'S Wordsmith Mantra' is a powerful, thought-provoking, emotionally engaging and spiritually uplifting book, which may even change your life.The vivid poetic prose seeks to convey a spiritual understanding of love from the point of view of a single black man who isn't interested in getting married but wants to experience love. The writer probes into the past to investigate how negative connotations, from what people understood of themselves in past times, can influence and even create religious dogma. In the midst of an extensive and gripping spiritual analysis of the themes the book confronts, the author aims to assess whether it is possible for God's Will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, which is surely essential if humankind is to enjoy peace, and love.
Download or read book Curious English Words and Phrases written by Max Cryer and published by Exisle Publishing. This book was released on 2015-03-10 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Have you ever wondered where terms like 'end of your tether', 'gets my goat' or 'letting ones hair down' come from? Or why we call some people 'geezers', 'sugar daddies' or 'lounge lizards'? Or where the words 'eavesdropping', 'nickname' and 'D-Day' come from? They are just a few of the many words and phrases that language expert Max Cryer examines in this fact-filled and fun new book. Max explains where these curious expressions come from, what they mean and how they are used. Along the way he tells a host of colourful anecdotes and dispels quite a few myths - Did Churchill originate the phrase 'black dog'? And if 'ivory tower' can be found in the Bible, why has its meaning changed so drastically? Curious English Words and Phrases is a treasure trove for lovers of language. Informative, amusing and value for money, this book is 'the real McCoy'. From 'couch potato' to 'Bob's your uncle', you'll find the explanation here!
Download or read book SunFlowers Sins written by Phil Webberley and published by XinXii. This book was released on 2020-05-20 with total page 537 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A simple misunderstanding in a cafe between Evelyn Barnswell and an elderly gentleman results in an argument from which he suffers a fatal heart-attack shortly afterwards. She is unaware of his death yet this tragic event - and her role in it, is to come back and play havoc with her life.
Download or read book Understanding Customers written by Chris Rice and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-05-14 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fully updated second edition of Understanding Customers is a recommended textbook for the Understanding Customers Certificate CIM paper. It is divided into six parts covering the social sciences, people as individuals, people in groups, people in society and people in organisations. Each chapter of Understanding Customers consists of: * learning objectives and definitions * the theoretical background * exercises * issues to consider * current examples * implications for marketing * recent examination questions. Chris Rice is Senior Lecturer in the Nottingham Business School at Nottingham Trent University. He is a CIM examiner on the Understanding Customers paper and has widespread consultancy experience in both the private and public sector.
Download or read book The Hair of the Dog written by Karl Sabbagh and published by John Murray. This book was released on 2010-11-11 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Science is full of surprises: the peculiar peepshow beginnings of baby incubators; the unexpected positive fallout from the H-bomb; the dinosaurs that caused sonic booms; the irrational nature of the number pi; the fifth taste sensation lurking in everyone's taste buds which nobody knew about (except for the Japanese). Whilst shedding light on these conundrums, Karl Sabbagh shows that seemingly trivial queries or assumptions lead to a deeper understanding of how science works. Who would have thought that scientists would turn to the hypothesis 'All swans are white' to determine the stability of the entire universe? Or that if we choose to spend our hard-earned money on other people it might make us happier than if we spend it on ourselves?
Download or read book Thoughts Before Breakfast written by Carole Simpson and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2008-12-12 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thoughts before Breakfast is a book full of spiritual clues which Carole has found while enjoying her own journey through life, and while striving to find the spiritual answer to every challenge that life throws at her. Thoughts before Breakfast is a collection of Carole’s spiritualist church addresses that she has delivered over the years. Each address is Carole’s personal view on life and she likes to see herself as a spiritual detective. She is always on the lookout for spiritual clues or treasures. Thoughts before Breakfast is a book full of wisdom and humour. Carole Simpson encourages the reader to see life as a game, and to play the game of life to their best advantage. Carole shares her personal experiences of, what she calls, ‘dog’s poo in paradise’ moments to show the reader that even in the bleakest moments of life there is a spiritual clue or answer to be found.
Download or read book High Availability IT Services written by Terry Critchley and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2014-12-17 with total page 527 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book starts with the basic premise that a service is comprised of the 3Ps-products, processes, and people. Moreover, these entities and their sub-entities interlink to support the services that end users require to run and support a business. This widens the scope of any availability design far beyond hardware and software. It also increases t
Download or read book A Prospect of Vengeance written by Anthony Price and published by Murder Room. This book was released on 2012-09-06 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the CWA Gold Dagger award-winning author of Other Paths to Glory The evacuation of Philip Masson's body near Mrs Griffin's cottage resurrects several old ghosts that send the newshounds scurrying to dig in their clippings archives. Rumours, matured with the passing years since Masson's 'disappearance' way back in 1978, once more abound. But the investigative team of Ian Robinson and Jenny Fielding are already on a trail of discovery that leads back to the end of the Wilson/Callaghan era. Jenny has overheard a snatch of gossip at an embassy party which seems to implicate British Intelligence's David Audley in the original cover-up of Masson's death . . . and Jenny has a personal interest in that affair. But it is not until the labyrinthine trails come together on a Spanish battlefield that Jenny learns why it is that Philip Masson had to die....
Download or read book Stickmaking Tales written by Leo Gowan and published by COCH Y BONDDU BOOKS. This book was released on 1996-08 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Funny Old Life written by Des Sleightholme and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2013-06-03 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Des Sleightholme, former Editor of Yachting Monthly" for many years, is well known for his irreverent outlook on the Establishment and for his unfailing eye for the funny side of things; here he takes on a hilarious anecdotal romp through his sailing life. From childhood efforts to get afloat at all costs - "if it floats stand on it" - to the tribulations of running a charter boat, the wandering narrative moves from the high drama of a force ten dismasting to the farce of a shattered toilet bowl. The author has a connoisseur's eye for a cock-up."
Download or read book Speak like an English native speaker written by Bridget Jones and published by 真源有限公司. This book was released on 2023-05-05 with total page 87 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Speak like an english native speaker" is a comprehensive guide to the idioms and expressions that are commonly used in the English language. This book provides readers with a wealth of knowledge about the meanings and origins of idiomatic expressions, which are an important part of everyday communication in the UK. The book is divided into sections that cover different topics, such as animals, food and drink, sports and games, and emotions. Each section contains a large number of idioms that are arranged in alphabetical order for easy reference. The authors provide a clear explanation of the meaning of each idiom, as well as examples of how the idiom is used in context. In addition to the idioms themselves, the book also includes information about their origins and history. The authors provide interesting and informative background information about the idioms, which helps readers to understand their meaning and use. "Speak like an english native speaker" is an excellent resource for anyone who is interested in improving their understanding of the English language. It is particularly useful for students who are learning English as a second language, as well as for native English speakers who want to expand their vocabulary and improve their communication skills. "Speak like an english native speaker" is a well-written and comprehensive guide to the idiomatic expressions that are commonly used in the UK. It is an essential resource for anyone who wants to improve their understanding of the English language and communicate more effectively in everyday situations.
