Totally Weird And Wonderful Words

Author : Erin McKean
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2006-10-23
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 0199886032

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Totally Weird and Wonderful Words by Erin McKean Pdf

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.

Author : Erin McKean
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 146 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2002
Category : Humor
ISBN : 9780195159059

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Weird and Wonderful Words by Erin McKean Pdf

Lists the meaning of hundreds of bizarre and unusual words and includes a guide to coining new words.

Author : Erin McKean,Danny Shanahan
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 130 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2003
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 0195170571

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More Weird and Wonderful Words by Erin McKean,Danny Shanahan Pdf

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.

Author : Erin McKean
Publisher : 5 Spot
Page : 188 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2011-02-10
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9780446575157

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The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean Pdf

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?

Author : Ralph Keyes
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2021-02-19
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9780190466787

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The Hidden History of Coined Words by Ralph Keyes Pdf

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.

Author : Carey McIntosh
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 230 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2020-05-18
Category : History
ISBN : 9789004430631

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Semantics and Cultural Change in the British Enlightenment: New Words and Old by Carey McIntosh Pdf

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.

Author : James L. Reynolds MD
Publisher : iUniverse
Page : 493 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2014-01-08
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9781491705124

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Elderspeak by James L. Reynolds MD Pdf

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.

Author : Tim William Machan
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 416 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2013-08-23
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9780191668364

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What is English? by Tim William Machan Pdf

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.

Author : Jerry Reedy,Fred Webber
Publisher : Xlibris Corporation
Page : 196 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2019-10-18
Category : Reference
ISBN : 9781796057799

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Bethumpt the Best and Worst of the Wördos by Jerry Reedy,Fred Webber Pdf

“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!

Author : Phil Cousineau
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 336 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2010-03-15
Category : Reference
ISBN : 9781573445504

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Wordcatcher by Phil Cousineau Pdf

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.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 52 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2007
Category : Copy editing
ISBN : IND:30000115549135

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Copy Editor by Anonim Pdf

Author : Hemant Katara
Publisher : BFC Publications
Page : 188 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2021-08-28
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9789355090225

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The Doormat Of English by Hemant Katara Pdf

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.

Author : Glenn Fleishman
Publisher : Aperiodical LLC
Page : 1814 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2015-08-12
Category : Computers
ISBN : 9780991439935

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The Magazine: The Complete Archives by Glenn Fleishman Pdf

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.

Author : Christopher Foyle
Publisher : Larousse Kingfisher Chambers
Page : 252 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2007
Category : Reference
ISBN : UCSC:32106018839933

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Foyle's Philavery by Christopher Foyle Pdf

The word 'philavery' was invented to describe this book - a collection of words chosen simply on the grounds of their aesthetic appeal. Some of these words appeal because of their aptness, some for their obscurity, some for their euphony, and some for their quirkiness.

Author : Perfection Learning Corporation
Publisher : Turtleback
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2019
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1663608199

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Last Lecture by Perfection Learning Corporation Pdf