Meshuggenary

Meshuggenary

Author: Payson R. Stevens

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2002-09-06

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 0743233352

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A Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.


What in the Word?

What in the Word?

Author: Charles Harrington Elster

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 9780156031974

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Presents a humorous look at the English language, including information on word and phrase origins, slang, style, usage, punctuation, and pronunciation.


Dictionary of Jewish Usage

Dictionary of Jewish Usage

Author: Sol Steinmetz

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 9780742543874

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Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms is a unique and much needed guide to the way many Hebrew, Yiddish, and Aramaic words and meanings are used by English speakers. Sol Steinmetz draws upon his years of dictionary editorial experience, as well as his lifelong study of Jewish history, traditions, and practices, to guide the reader through the essentially uncharted territory of Jewish usage. Dictionary of Jewish Usage clarifies the meanings of Jewish terms that have been absorbed into English, as well as the transliterated Hebrew terms from sacred texts that reflect differing pronunciations. The Dictionary also explains terms that are often misused, sheds light on the meaning of clusters of terminology, and delineates the etymology and pronunciation of many words, making this Dictionary an invaluable guide for anyone curious about Jewish usage.


Borrowings in Informal American English

Borrowings in Informal American English

Author: Małgorzata Kowalczyk

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2023-08-31

Total Pages: 347

ISBN-13: 1009346873

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Based on a rich range of sources, this pioneering book provides a comprehensive description of informal borrowings in American English.


The Obits: The New York Times Annual 2012

The Obits: The New York Times Annual 2012

Author: William McDonald

Publisher: Workman Publishing Company

Published: 2011-11-11

Total Pages: 609

ISBN-13: 0761169423

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The obits. It’s the first section many of us turn to when we open the paper, not to see who died, but rather to find out about who lived to discover the interesting lives of people who’ve made a mark. A new annual that collects nearly 300 of the best of The New York Times obituaries from the previous year, The Obits Annual 2012 is a compelling, addictive-as-salted-peanuts “who’s who” of some of the most fascinating people of the twentieth century. Written by top journalists each entry is a jewel, a miniature, nuanced biography filled with the facts we love to read, with the surprise and serendipity of life. There’s David L. Wolper, the producer of Roots—and the story of how he got his start purchasing film footage from Sputnik. The jazz singer, Abbey Lincoln, and her change from glamorous performer—she owned a dress of Marilyn Monroe’s—to civil rights activist (she burned the Monroe dress). Owsley Stanley, the quirky perfecter of LSD, who blamed a heart attack on the fact that his mother made him eat broccoli as a child. Patricia Neal—known by most as a movie star, but her real life, filled with tragedy, adversity, and incredible professional ups and downs, is almost a surreal play of triumph and tragedy. Arranged chronologically, like the obits themselves, it’s a deliciously random walk through the recent past, meeting the philosophers, newsmen, spies, publishers, moguls, soul singers, baseball managers, Nobel Prize winners, models, and others who’ve shaped the world.


English and Ethnicity

English and Ethnicity

Author: J. Brutt-Griffler

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2006-12-11

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 0230601804

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This volume examines the complex interaction between the English language and the construction of ethnicity in the global English-speaking world. The essays demonstrate that the constructs of both English and ethnicity are contested sites of identity formation.


There's a Word for It

There's a Word for It

Author: Sol Steinmetz

Publisher: Crown

Published: 2010-04-27

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 0307717631

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Word geeks (1984), rejoice! Crack open these covers and immerse yourself in a mind-expanding (1963) compendium of the new words (or new meanings of words) that have sprung from American life to ignite the most vital, inventive, fruitful, and A-OK (1961) lexicographical Big Bang (1950) since the first no-brow (1922) Neanderthal grunted meaningfully. From the turn of the twentieth century to today, our language has grown from around 90,000 new words to some 500,000—at least, that’s today’s best guesstimate (1936). What accounts for this quantum leap (1924)? In There’s a Word for It, language expert Sol Steinmetz takes us on a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (1949) joyride (1908) through our nation’s cultural history, as seen through the neato (1951) words and terms we’ve invented to describe it all. From the quaintly genteel days of the 1900s (when we first heard words such as nickelodeon, escalator, and, believe it or not, Ms.) through the Roaring Twenties (the time of flappers, jalopies, and bootleg booze) to the postwar ’50s (the years of rock ’n’ roll, beatniks, and blast-offs) and into the new millennium (with its blogs, Google, and Obamamania), this feast for word lovers is a boffo (1934) celebration of linguistic esoterica (1929). In chapters organized by decade, each with a lively and informative narrative of the life and language of the time, along with year-by-year lists of words that were making their first appearance, There’s a Word for It reveals how the American culture contributed to the evolution and expansion of the English language and vice versa. Clearly, it’s must-reading (1940). And not to disparage any of the umpteen (1918) other language books on the shelf—though they have their share of hokum (1917) and gobbledygook (1944)—but this one truly is the bee’s knees and the cat’s pajamas (1920s).