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English as She Is Spoke: Being a Comprehensive Phrasebook of the English Language, Written by Men to Whom English was Entirely Unknown
Pedro Carolino, Jose da Fonseca · back to the book
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24 books with the same feel
Include books by the same authorThe Deeper Meaning of Liff
Douglas Adams, John Lloyd · 156 pages
Does the sensation of Tingrith(1) make you yelp? Do you bend sympathetically when you see someone Ahenny(2)? Can you deal with a Naugatuck(3) without causing a Toronto(4)? Will you suffer from Kettering(5) this summer? Probably. You are almost certainly familiar with all these experiences but just didn't know that there are words for them. Well, in fact, there aren't--or rather there weren't, unti
Me Talk Pretty One Day
David Sedaris · 272 pages
A recent transplant to Paris, humorist David Sedaris, bestselling author of “Naked”, presents a collection of his strongest work yet, including the title story about his hilarious attempt to learn French. David Sedaris' move to Paris from New York inspired these hilarious pieces, including the title essay, about his attempts to learn French from a sadistic teacher who declares that every day sp
The Phantom Tollbooth
Norton Juster · 256 pages
It has been fifty years—and millions of readers—since the world was first introduced to Milo and his adventures in the Lands Beyond with Tock, the Humbug, and the captive princesses Rhyme and Reason. Now we have a remarkable 50th anniversary edition to honor this universally adored and deeply influential novel. This special edition will include: • Gorgeous packaging that features the classic
A Clockwork Orange
Anthony Burgess · 188 pages
A Clockwork Orange is a dystopian satirical black comedy novel by English writer Anthony Burgess, published in 1962. It is set in a near-future society that has a youth subculture of extreme violence. The teenage protagonist, Alex, narrates his violent exploits and his experiences with state authorities intent on reforming him. The book is partially written in a Russian-influenced argot called "Na
Between You Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen
Mary Norris · 228 pages
A New Yorker copy veteran presents laugh-out-loud descriptions of some of the most common and vexing errors in language and usage, drawing on examples from classic literature and pop culture while sharing anecdotes from her work with celebrated writers.
Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States
Bill Bryson · 417 pages
Bill Bryson turns away from the highways and byways of middle America, so hilariously depicted in his bestselling The Lost Continent, for a fast, exhilarating ride along the Route 66 of American language and popular culture. In Made in America, Bryson de-mythologizes his native land - explaining how a dusty desert hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn't wo
The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
Mark Forsyth · 373 pages
Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing
Melissa Mohr · 336 pages
"Holy Sh*t tells the story of two kinds of swearing--obscenities and oaths--from ancient Rome and the Bible to today. With humor and insight, Melissa Mohr takes readers on a journey to discover how "swearing" has come to include both testifying with your hand on the Bible and calling someone a *#$&!* when they cut you off on the highway. She explores obscenities in ancient Rome--which were remarka
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
Lynne Truss · 209 pages
Anguished English: An Anthology of Accidental Assaults Upon Our Language
Richard Lederer · 176 pages
Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists, and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Combinations Thereof; Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips, and Secret Parts, Tinctures, Tonics, and Essences; With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory
Roy Blount Jr. · 364 pages
After 40 years of making a living using words in every medium, print or electronic, Blount still can't get over his ABCs. In this book, he celebrates the juju, the sonic and kinetic energies of letters and their combinations.
The Superior Person's Book of Words
Peter Bowler · 147 pages
The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time
Jeff Deck, Benjamin D. Herson · 288 pages
Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog: The Quirky History and Lost Art of Diagramming Sentences
Kitty Burns Florey · 165 pages
Once wildly popular and used by teachers across America to teach grammar, sentence diagramming is now a lost art to most people. But from the moment she encountered it in the seventh-grade classroom of Sister Bernadette, Kitty Burns Florey was fascinated by the bizarre method of mapping the words in a sentence. Now a veteran copyeditor, Florey studies the practice in a funny look back at its odd h
Anonyponymous: The Forgotten People behind Everyday Words
John Bemelmans Marciano · 152 pages
A collection of short essays shares the whimsical stories behind many everyday terms, from the Earl of Sandwich's invention of the meat-and-bread combination to Etienne de Silhouette's money-saving alternative to the portrait.
The Transitive Vampire
Karen Elizabeth Gordon · 144 pages
Playful, practical, this is the style book you can't wait to use, a guide that addresses classic questions of English usage with wit & black humor. Black-&-white illustrations throughout.
Born To Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All Its Moods
Michael Wex · 328 pages
A serious but fun look at Yiddish idioms, phrases, and metaphors.
The Pun Also Rises: How the Humble Pun Revolutionized Language, Changed History, and Made Wordplay More Than Some Antics
John Pollack · 212 pages
An Exaltation of Larks: The Ultimate Edition, More than 1,000 Terms
James Lipton · 230 pages
A collection of "terms of venery," collective nouns. The origin of some of the terms is explained, and more than 250 of the terms are illustrated with engravings by Dürer and Grandville and others.