Alphabet Juice

Author : Roy Blount, Jr.
Publisher : Sarah Crichton Books
Page : 384 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2009-09-29
Category : Humor
ISBN : 9781429960427

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Alphabet Juice by Roy Blount, Jr. Pdf

Ali G: How many words does you know? Noam Chomsky: Normally, humans, by maturity, have tens of thousands of them. Ali G: What is some of 'em? —Da Ali G Show Did you know that both mammal and matter derive from baby talk? Have you noticed how wince makes you wince? Ever wonder why so many h-words have to do with breath? Roy Blount Jr. certainly has, and after forty years of making a living using words in every medium, print or electronic, except greeting cards, he still can't get over his ABCs. In Alphabet Juice, he celebrates the electricity, the juju, the sonic and kinetic energies, of letters and their combinations. Blount does not prescribe proper English. The franchise he claims is "over the counter." Three and a half centuries ago, Thomas Blount produced Blount's Glossographia, the first dictionary to explore derivations of English words. This Blount's Glossographia takes that pursuit to other levels, from Proto-Indo-European roots to your epiglottis. It rejects the standard linguistic notion that the connection between words and their meanings is "arbitrary." Even the word arbitrary is shown to be no more arbitrary, at its root, than go-to guy or crackerjack. From sources as venerable as the OED (in which Blount finds an inconsistency, at whisk) and as fresh as Urbandictionary.com (to which Blount has contributed the number-one definition of "alligator arm"), and especially from the author's own wide-ranging experience, Alphabet Juice derives an organic take on language that is unlike, and more fun than, any other.

Author : Roy Blount, Jr., Jr.
Publisher : Sarah Crichton Books
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2009-09-29
Category : Humor
ISBN : 0374532044

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Alphabet Juice by Roy Blount, Jr., Jr. Pdf

"If everybody's first English teacher were Roy Blount Jr., we might still be trillions in debt, but we would be so deeply in love with words and their magic . . . that we'd hardly notice." —Chris Tucker, The Dallas Morning News After forty years of making a living using words in every medium except greeting cards, Roy Blount Jr. still can't get over his ABCs. In Alphabet Juice, he celebrates the juju, the crackle, the sonic and kinetic energies, of letters and their combinations. He has a strong sense of right and wrong, but he is not out to prescribe proper English. His passion is for questions such as these: Did you know that both mammal and matter derive from baby talk? Have you noticed how wince makes you wince? Three and a half centuries ago, Thomas Blount produced his Glossographia, the first dictionary to explore derivations of English words. This Blount's Glossographia takes that pursuit to new levels. From sources as venerable as the OED and as fresh as Urbandictionary.com, and especially from the author's own wide ranging experience, Alphabet Juice derives an organic take on language that is unlike, and more fun than, any other. "Amusing, bemusing, and smart as hell." —Daniel Okrent, Fortune "Danced in Blount's arms, English swings smartly." —Jack Shafer, The New York Times Book Review "Gracefully erudite and joyous." —Katherine A. Powers, The Boston Sunday Globe

Author : Roy Blount, Jr.
Publisher : Sarah Crichton Books
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2011-05-10
Category : Humor
ISBN : 9781429922784

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Alphabetter Juice by Roy Blount, Jr. Pdf

Fresh-squeezed Lexicology, with Twists No man of letters savors the ABC's, or serves them up, like language-loving humorist Roy Blount Jr. His glossary, from ad hominy to zizz, is hearty, full bodied, and out to please discriminating palates coarse and fine. In 2008, he celebrated the gists, tangs, and energies of letters and their combinations in Alphabet Juice, to wide acclaim. Now, Alphabetter Juice. Which is better. This book is for anyone—novice wordsmith, sensuous reader, or career grammarian—who loves to get physical with words. What is the universal sign of disgust, ew, doing in beautiful and cutie? Why is toadless, but not frogless, in the Oxford English Dictionary? How can the U. S. Supreme Court find relevance in gollywoddles? Might there be scientific evidence for the sonicky value of hunch? And why would someone not bother to spell correctly the very word he is trying to define on Urbandictionary.com? Digging into how locutions evolve, and work, or fail, Blount draws upon everything from The Tempest to The Wire. He takes us to Iceland, for salmon-watching with a "girl gillie," and to Georgian England, where a distinguished etymologist bites off more of a "giantess" than he can chew. Jimmy Stewart appears, in connection with kludge and the bombing of Switzerland. Litigation over supercalifragilisticexpialidocious leads to a vintage werewolf movie; news of possum-tossing, to metanarrative. As Michael Dirda wrote in The Washington Post Book World, "The immensely likeable Blount clearly possesses what was called in the Italian Renaissance ‘sprezzatura,' that rare and enviable ability to do even the most difficult things without breaking a sweat." Alphabetter Juice is brimming with sprezzatura. Have a taste.

Author : Bonnie Mackey,Hedy Schiller Watson
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 159 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2016-10-24
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9798216044765

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Alphabet Books by Bonnie Mackey,Hedy Schiller Watson Pdf

Covering more than 300 alphabet books with topic, content area, grade level, text structure, and instructional value indexing, this extensive resource guide includes bibliographic information and brief summaries of each selection as well as a chapter devoted to the unique uses of alphabet books within ELL classrooms. Alphabet books are perfect for establishing introductory lessons and serve as a starting point for project ideas. Alphabet Books: The K–12 Educators' Power Tool is ideal for school and public librarians as well as teachers who need to meet specific learning standards. The indexing by topic, grade level, and content area helps in finding just the right book for the aligned instructional objective. Some 300-plus alphabet books are additionally categorized according to the complexity of the text structure. Featured books for three grade level categories (Pre K–2, 3–6, and 7–12) are accompanied by instructional strategies to use with these books. Images of the finished student projects for every described strategy are included to clarify the instructional values. A chapter that focuses on the use of alphabet books in the English language learners' classroom offers strategies for the specific needs of this student group.

Author : Roy Blount
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 1 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2009
Category : Broadsides
ISBN : OCLC:438177839

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Alphabet Juice by Roy Blount Pdf

Author : Carl Hiaasen
Publisher : Vintage
Page : 225 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2008-05-13
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 9780307269430

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The Downhill Lie by Carl Hiaasen Pdf

Originally drawn to the game by his father, Carl Hiaasen wisely quit golfing in 1973. But some ambitions refuse to die, and as the years–and memories of shanked 7-irons faded, it dawned on Carl that there might be one thing in life he could do better in middle age than he could as a youth. So gradually he ventured back to the dreaded driving range, this time as the father of a five-year-old son–and also as a grandfather. “What possesses a man to return in midlife to a game at which he’d never excelled in his prime, and which in fact had dealt him mostly failure, angst and exasperation? Here’s why I did it: I’m one sick bastard.” And thus we have Carl’s foray into a world of baffling titanium technology, high-priced golf gurus, bizarre infomercial gimmicks and the mind-bending phenomenon of Tiger Woods; a maddening universe of hooks and slices where Carl ultimately–and foolishly–agrees to compete in a country-club tournament against players who can actually hit the ball. “That’s the secret of the sport’s infernal seduction,” he writes. “It surrenders just enough good shots to let you talk yourself out of quitting.” Hiaasen’s chronicle of his shaky return to this bedeviling pastime and the ensuing demolition of his self-esteem–culminating with the savage 45-hole tournament–will have you rolling with laughter. Yet the bittersweet memories of playing with his own father and the glow he feels when watching his own young son belt the ball down the fairway will also touch your heart. Forget Tiger, Phil and Ernie. If you want to understand the true lure of golf, turn to Carl Hiaasen, who offers an extraordinary audiobook for the ordinary hacker. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Carl Hiaasen's Bad Monkey.

Author : Raj Haldar,Chris Carpenter
Publisher : Sourcebooks, Inc.
Page : 35 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2018-11-13
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN : 9781492695332

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P Is for Pterodactyl by Raj Haldar,Chris Carpenter Pdf

A New York Times Bestseller! A "raucous trip through the odd corners of our alphabet." —The New York Times Let's get real—the English language is bizarre. A might be for apple, but it's also for aisle and aeons. Why does the word "gnat" start with a G but the word "knot" doesn't start with an N? It doesn't always make sense, but don't let these rule-breaking silent letters defeat you! This whimsical, funky book from Raj Haldar (aka rapper Lushlife) turns the traditional idea of an alphabet book on its head, poking fun at the most mischievous words in the English language and demonstrating how to pronounce them. Fun and informative for word nerds of all ages!

Author : Muhammad Khudayyir
Publisher : Verso Books
Page : 180 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2020-05-05
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781789603811

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Basrayatha by Muhammad Khudayyir Pdf

Basrayatha is a literary tribute by author Muhammad Khudayyir to the city of his birth, Basra, on the Shatt al-Arab waterway in southern Iraq. Just as a city's inhabitants differ from outsiders through their knowledge of its streets and stories, so Khudayyir distinguishes between the real city of Basra and the imagined city he created through stories, experiences, and folklore. By turns a memoir, a travelog, a love letter, and a meditation, Basrayatha summons up a city long gone, yet which lives on in the memories and imaginations of its people. In the tradition of Calvino and Borges, Khudayyir's mesmerizing work itself illuminates and enriches the story of this magnificent city.

Author : Robert H. Linders
Publisher : iUniverse
Page : 113 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2013-01-17
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781475968873

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No Safe Route by Robert H. Linders Pdf

It takes a gifted speaker to turn the philosophical into the practical, the theological into themes for daily living. Author Robert H. Linders has done just that for more than thirty-five years as the pastor of St. Pauls Lutheran Church in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. In No Safe Route, he shares a collection of his sermons and other essays gathered from throughout his career. For Linders, most subjects are fair game, providing spiritual guidance on everything from novels, fathers of the Church, poetry, popular movies, a visit to his college-town diner, and the current political landscape. In these sermons, the Bible and todays news sit side by side, and humor illuminates ancient biblical truths. Bob Linders addresses the concerns of living in a world that tries to do without God. -Donald Mathews, former librarian and preaching instructor at Gettysburg Theological Seminary In the Land of Linders, Bible hermeneutics meet todays news, and memorable jokes confront philosophical wisdom in such rapid succession that one needs at least a good week of conversation at home to sort them out. -Robert C. Williams (PhD, Harvard), Pulitzer Prize Nominee in Russian History Lovell, Maine.

Author : Patrick M. Valentine
Publisher : Scarecrow Press
Page : 223 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2012-09-27
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9780810885714

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A Social History of Books and Libraries from Cuneiform to Bytes by Patrick M. Valentine Pdf

While the importance of writing has often been recognized, the role of books and especially that of libraries has just as often been slighted. Knowledge, once generated, has to be communicated, preserved, and accessible. Books in their varying formats—from clay tablets to scrolls and manuscripts to pixels—have been instrumental in spreading knowledge, although relatively little attention has been given to the story of books themselves. A Social History of Books and Libraries from Cuneiform to Bytes traces the roles of books and libraries throughout recorded history and explores their social and cultural importance within differing societies and changing times. It presents the history of books from clay tablets to e-books and the history of libraries, whether built of bricks or bytes. Following an introduction that sets the theoretical basis for the historical importance of books and libraries, chapters alternate between the history of the book and the history of libraries. Included within the chapters are short excursions on some particular development, such as book emblems or cataloging. Case studies are given as thematic illustrations of libraries everywhere. Patrick M. Valentine argues that social and cultural forces have been more influential in determining the nature and status of information, books, and libraries than has technology. But A Social History of Books and Libraries is far from a jeremiad against technology; rather it presents history within the subtle yet shifting context of time and place. Although written primarily for librarians and library students, it will also be of interest to a wider audience of scholars and those interested in books, libraries, and cultural history.

Author : Roy Blount, Jr.
Publisher : Sarah Crichton Books
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2016-03-15
Category : Humor
ISBN : 9780374712884

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Save Room for Pie by Roy Blount, Jr. Pdf

Our best-laid plans will yield to fate. And we will say, “We lived. We ate.” Roy Blount Jr. is one of America’s most cherished comic writers. He’s been compared to Mark Twain and James Thurber, and his books have been called everything from “a work of art” (Robert W. Creamer, The New York Times Book Review) to “a book to read till it falls apart” (Newsweek). Now, in Save Room for Pie, he applies his much-praised wit and charm to a rich and fundamental topic: food. As a lifelong eater, Blount always got along easy with food—he didn’t have to think, he just ate. But food doesn’t exist in a vacuum; there’s the global climate and the global economy to consider, not to mention Blount’s chronic sinusitis, which constricts his sense of smell, and consequently his taste buds. So while he’s always frowned on eating with an ulterior motive, times have changed. Save Room for Pie grapples with these and other food-related questions in Blount’s signature style. Here you’ll find lively meditations on everything from bacon froth to grapefruit, Kobe beef to biscuits. You’ll also find defenses of gizzards, mullet, okra, cane syrup, watermelon, and boiled peanuts; an imagined dialogue between Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden; input from Louis Armstrong, Frederick Douglass, and Blaze Starr; and of course some shampooed possums and carjacking turkeys. In poems and songs, limericks and fake (or sometimes true) news stories, Blount talks about food in surprising and innovative ways, with all the wit and verve that prompted Garrison Keillor, in The Paris Review, to say: “Blount is the best. He can be literate, uncouth, and soulful all in one sentence.”

Author : Francis Lieber,Edward Wigglesworth,Thomas Gamaliel Bradford,Henry Vethake
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 634 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 1879
Category : Encyclopedias and dictionaries
ISBN : UOM:39015039625127

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Encyclopaedia Americana by Francis Lieber,Edward Wigglesworth,Thomas Gamaliel Bradford,Henry Vethake Pdf

Author : Philip Nel
Publisher : A&C Black
Page : 328 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2005-01-01
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0826417086

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Dr. Seuss by Philip Nel Pdf

Philip Nel takes a fascinating look into the key aspects of Seuss's career - his poetry, politics, art, marketing, and place in the popular imagination." "Nel argues convincingly that Dr. Seuss is one of the most influential poets in America. His nonsense verse, like that of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, has changed language itself, giving us new words like "nerd." And Seuss's famously loopy artistic style - what Nel terms an "energetic cartoon surrealism" - has been equally important, inspiring artists like filmmaker Tim Burton and illustrator Lane Smith. --from back cover

Author : Roy Blount, Jr.
Publisher : Sarah Crichton Books
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2011-05-10
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 0374103704

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Alphabetter Juice by Roy Blount, Jr. Pdf

Fresh-squeezed Lexicology, with Twists No man of letters savors the ABC’s, or serves them up, like language-loving humorist Roy Blount Jr. His glossary, from ad hominy to zizz, is hearty, full bodied, and out to please discriminating palates coarse and fine. In 2008, he celebrated the gists, tangs, and energies of letters and their combinations in Alphabet Juice, to wide acclaim. Now, Alphabetter Juice. Which is better. This book is for anyone—novice wordsmith, sensuous reader, or career grammarian—who loves to get physical with words. What is the universal sign of disgust, ew, doing in beautiful and cutie? Why is toadless, but not frogless, in the Oxford English Dictionary? How can the U. S. Supreme Court find relevance in gollywoddles? Might there be scientific evidence for the sonicky value of hunch? And why would someone not bother to spell correctly the very word he is trying to define on Urbandictionary.com? Digging into how locutions evolve, and work, or fail, Blount draws upon everything from The Tempest to The Wire. He takes us to Iceland, for salmon-watching with a “girl gillie,” and to Georgian England, where a distinguished etymologist bites off more of a “giantess” than he can chew. Jimmy Stewart appears, in connection with kludge and the bombing of Switzerland. Litigation over supercalifragilisticexpialidocious leads to a vintage werewolf movie; news of possum-tossing, to metanarrative. As Michael Dirda wrote in The Washington Post Book World, “The immensely likeable Blount clearly possesses what was called in the Italian Renaissance ‘sprezzatura,’ that rare and enviable ability to do even the most difficult things without breaking a sweat.” Alphabetter Juice is brimming with sprezzatura. Have a taste.

Author : Thomas Blount
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 696 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 1661
Category : Electronic
ISBN : BL:A0021069319

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Glossographia by Thomas Blount Pdf