Collins Reference
What In The Word? : Wordplay, Word Lore, and Answers to Your Peskiest Questions about Language
Regular price
$17.95
Shipping calculated at checkout.
What In The Word?
Author(s): Charles Harrington Elster
Are you so sure about “assure,” “ensure,” and “insure”? Can you determine whether a knob of butter is equivalent to a lump or a pat or a scosh? Can you say which word in the English language has the most definitions, or who put the H in Jesus H. Christ?
If you can’t, be assured that Charles Harrington Elster, author of several well-loved works on language, can—and does in his latest book, a delightfully designed compendium of the most common, interesting, and entertaining conundrums in our language. Drawing upon esoteric sources and his own inimitable expertise, Elster uses a lively question-and-answer format to cover a variety of topics—word and phrase origins, slang, style, usage, punctuation, and pronunciation. Every chapter features original brainteasers, challenging puzzles, and a trove of literary trivia.
Review(s):
PRAISE FOR THE BIG BOOK OF BEASTLY MISPRONUNCIATIONS
"Ek-STROR-di-ner-ee. The best survey of the spoken field in years."--William Safire, The New York Times Magazine
ISBN: 9780156031974
Author(s): Charles Harrington Elster
Are you so sure about “assure,” “ensure,” and “insure”? Can you determine whether a knob of butter is equivalent to a lump or a pat or a scosh? Can you say which word in the English language has the most definitions, or who put the H in Jesus H. Christ?
If you can’t, be assured that Charles Harrington Elster, author of several well-loved works on language, can—and does in his latest book, a delightfully designed compendium of the most common, interesting, and entertaining conundrums in our language. Drawing upon esoteric sources and his own inimitable expertise, Elster uses a lively question-and-answer format to cover a variety of topics—word and phrase origins, slang, style, usage, punctuation, and pronunciation. Every chapter features original brainteasers, challenging puzzles, and a trove of literary trivia.
Review(s):
PRAISE FOR THE BIG BOOK OF BEASTLY MISPRONUNCIATIONS
"Ek-STROR-di-ner-ee. The best survey of the spoken field in years."--William Safire, The New York Times Magazine
ISBN: 9780156031974