Word Fugitives

Word Fugitives
Author :
Publisher : Harper Collins
Total Pages : 208
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780061758706
ISBN-13 : 0061758701
Rating : 4/5 (701 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Word Fugitives by : Barbara Wallraff

Download or read book Word Fugitives written by Barbara Wallraff and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-10-13 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite the many thousands of dictionary words at our disposal, our language can be dismayingly inadequate. How many times have you searched for a word that means just what you want it to but failed to find anything suitable anywhere? Most of us, it turns out, lead lives rife with experiences, people, and things that have no names. At least, they lacked names until now. Word Fugitives comes to the rescue, supplying hundreds of inspired words coined or redefined to meet everyday needs. For instance, wouldn't it be handy to have a word for the momentary confusion people experience when they hear a cell phone ringing and wonder whether it's theirs? (How about fauxcellarm, phonundrum, or pandephonium?) Or what about a word for offspring who are adults? (Try unchildren or offsprung.) Or a word for the irrational fear when you're throwing a party that no one will show up? (That might be guestlessness, empty-fest syndrome, or fete-alism.) This mind- and vocabulary-expanding book grew out -- way out -- of Barbara Wallraff's popular column in The Atlantic Monthly. Brimming with irresistible diversions and pop quizzes; illuminated by contributions and commentary from authors, linguists, and leading language authorities; and enlivened by pleas for help from people whose words have yet to be found, Word Fugitives will captivate and inspire anyone who ever struggles to describe the world that he or she, or they, or thon (thon? see page 141) lives in.


Word Fugitives Related Books

Word Fugitives
Language: en
Pages: 208
Authors: Barbara Wallraff
Categories: Language Arts & Disciplines
Type: BOOK - Published: 2009-10-13 - Publisher: Harper Collins

GET EBOOK

Despite the many thousands of dictionary words at our disposal, our language can be dismayingly inadequate. How many times have you searched for a word that mea
Word Spy
Language: en
Pages: 434
Authors: Paul McFedries
Categories: Reference
Type: BOOK - Published: 2004-02-17 - Publisher: Crown

GET EBOOK

Language wears many hats, but its most important job is to help us name or describe what's in the world. Words define us, our actions, even our existence. And j
A Dictionary of the Bible
Language: en
Pages: 464
Authors: James Hastings
Categories: Reference
Type: BOOK - Published: 2004-10 - Publisher: The Minerva Group, Inc.

GET EBOOK

For over a century the ten-volume Dictionary of the Bible has been the definitive reference. "It is a Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, together with th
The Meaning of Liff
Language: en
Pages: 242
Authors: Douglas Adams
Categories: Humor
Type: BOOK - Published: 2013-10-10 - Publisher: Pan Macmillan

GET EBOOK

The Meaning of Liff has sold hundreds of thousands of copies since it was first published in 1983, and remains a much-loved humour classic. This edition has bee
Federal Drug Enforcement
Language: en
Pages: 2282
Authors: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Government Operations. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
Categories: Drugs
Type: BOOK - Published: 1975 - Publisher:

GET EBOOK