There's A Word for it! 010198 - Softcover

ELSTER

4.09

104 ratings by Goodreads

9780671778583: There's A Word for it! 010198

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0671778587 ISBN 13: 9780671778583

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1997

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Warning: This is not simply another book about obscure English words. Instead, it's an open-armed invitation to go on a mischievous, quirky, madcap expedition through the depths of our unabridged dictionaries, where you will learn about all the exceptional words you never knew you needed to know to live a fuller, more verbally enriched life. Consider that without realizing it we may have engaged in acokoinonia (sex without passion or desire), been bored to tears by the company of a philodox (someone in love with his or her own opinions), or suffered from recurrent matutolypea (getting up on the wrong side of the bed). There's a Word for It! will help you plug gaping holes in your vocabulary and apply vibrant color to the blank spots in your picture of the world. The book also contains a dazzling selection of light verse by such famous (and fabulous) scribes as Hogden Gnash, Anais Numb, and G. B. Pshaw. Get ready to dig into this delectable lexical feast, served up by the language connoisseur William Safire calls "ek-STROR-di-ner-ee."

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Review:

""There's a Word for It" reminds us of the greatness and glory of our word-rich language. Charles Elster's logoleptic lexicon is a verbivore's paradise."
-- Richard Lederer, bestselling author of "Fractured English"

"If the words in "Reader's Digest"'s 'It Pays to Enrich Your Word Power' aren't providing the challenge that your vocabulary-hungry mind needs, try "There's a Word for It."..Elster has collected...worthy words about all kinds of people and topics."
-- Judyth Rigler, "San Antonio Express-News"

"Those who devour words will feast on it....Elster aims to entertain, and he succeeds. He also excites curiosity about the language."
-- Diane White, Boston Globe

"Chock full of wonderful ways to talk about people, places, and things: words you never knew you needed -- until now."
-- Phyllis DeBlanche, San Diego Magazine

"There's a Word for It reminds us of the greatness and glory of our word-rich language. Charles Elster's logoleptic lexicon is a verbivore's paradise."
-- Richard Lederer, bestselling author of Fractured English

"Anyone who enjoys playing with the English language will find this compendium charming and at times hysterical."
-- Booklist

"If you've ever had a yen to out-Buckley William F. Buckley Jr., here's a brilliant chance to do so...Page after page, Elster amuses, entertains....And when it's all read and done, the reader will have gained a few lessons on life by observing the asides and comments that accompany the generally boisterous text."
-- Mae Woods Bell, Rocky Mountain Telegraph

"If the words in Reader's Digest's 'It Pays to Enrich Your Word Power' aren't providing the challenge that your vocabulary-hungry mind needs, try There's a Word for It...Elster has collected...worthy words about all kinds of people and topics."
-- Judyth Rigler, San Antonio Express-News

"This book will be in demand by all word mavens and language lovers....Elster plumbs the oceanic depths of the English language....His collector's collection of obscure and wonderfully exact words concentrates in turn on extraordinary words relating to health and medicine, love and sex, people, religion, politics, academia, and uncommon words for everyday things....The style of the essays is conversational, though it resembles a fevered all-night conversation with an amazingly learned and wildly obsessed friend."
-- Library Journal

About the Author:

Charles Harrington Elster is the author of The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations, Verbal Advantage, and other books about words. He is a guest contributor to The New York Times Magazine's "On Language" column and has been a commentator on hundreds of radio shows.

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