What does "skanky mean? Where did "okay come from? Can I end a sentence with a preposition? Why do Americans say "zee and the British say "zed? Here is the book that Mavens fans have been asking for: answers to hundreds of questions on word and phrase origins, slang, grammar, and usage, all from Random House Reference's Word Mavens. This Collection is the first original book based on the hugely popular Mavens' Word of the Day feature. The best of the site's postings are gathered here, so that language buffs can browse the old-fashioned way without having to find an Internet connection. Many of the essays incorporate responses from readers to the postings, including follow-up research. Also included is an appendix of favorite electronic and print resources for word sleuths.
This updated and expanded edition of the essential guide for small and one-person libraries (OPLs) covers virtually every key management topic of interest to OPLs. In addition to offering a wealth of practical tips, strategies, and case studies, author Judith Siess takes an international perspective that reflects the growing number of OPL's worldwide. The book's in-depth directory section lists important organizations, publications, vendors and suppliers, discussion lists, and Web sites.
“If the spirit of a loving wife can’t nudge her husband in the right direction, who can?” So thinks thirty-something Judith McBride, a Jewish control freak with an unlikely last name. When Judith dies in a medical mishap, she calls on her supernatural status to “rescue” her widowed husband from the sexy clutches of their gold-digging, thrill-seeking blonde accountant. But interfering with earthly events is strictly verboten and the repercussions ripple outward, deeply affecting not only Judith but the lives of her husband and best friend. Judith’s journey from the physical to the spiritual world is peppered with adjustments, choices, and self-discovery ultimately leading her to the realization that loving sometimes means learning how to let go.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist discusses contemporary figures of speech, from witty stories about expressions such as "kiss and tell" and "stab in the back" to the evolution of "read my lips." NOTE: This edition does not include illustrations.
This collection of academic essays have been written in tribute to Professor Zev Garber, and are divided to reflect the areas in which Professor Garber has devoted his teaching and writing energies: the Holocaust, Jewish-Christian relations, philosophy and theology, history and biblical interpretation.
According to author Ken Leebow the Internet should be fun, but for many it is a frustrating place that often disappoints them. This guide to the Internet offers useful tips on making the whole thing work faster and in a more satisfying manner. Using the Internet should be fun, not frustrating. With over 168 million Americans going online, millions of Web sites have sprung up on a mind-numbing amount of topics. Weeding through them all can be a time-consuming hassle. With 1001 INCREDIBLE THINGS TO DO ON THE INTERNET, beginners and experienced users alike can learn to “surf without the search” and bypass those search engines that take forever to download and too often don’t provide the right information anyway. In this complete compendium, conveniently organized from A to Z, author Ken Leebow lists the very best sites on everything from car shopping to personal credit ratings to playing games with people online. If there’s an important site on a particular subject, readers can be sure that Ken Leebow has included it here.
I don't know how else to tell you this...everything you know about English is wrong. "If you love language and the unvarnished truth, you'll love Everything You Know About English Is Wrong. You'll have fun because his lively, comedic, skeptical voice will speak to you from the pages of his word-bethumped book." -Richard Lederer, author of Anguished English, Get Thee to a Punnery, and Word Wizard Now that you know, it's time to, well, bite the mother tongue. William Brohaugh, former editor of Writer's Digest, will be your tour guide on this delightful journey through the English language, pointing out all the misconceptions about our wonderful-and wonderfully confusing-native tongue. Tackling words, letters, grammar and rules, no sacred cow remains untipped as Brohaugh reveals such fascinating and irreverent shockers as: - If you figuratively climb the walls, you are agitated/frustrated/crazy. If you literally climb the walls, you are Spiderman. - "Biting the Mother Tongue": English does not come from England. - The word "queue" is the poster child of an English spelling rule so dominant we'll call it a dominatrix rule: "U must follow Q! Slave!" - So much of our vocabulary comes from the classical languages-clearly, Greece, and not Grease, is the word, is the word, is the word. -Emoticons: Unpleasant punctuational predictions "Better plotted than a glossary, more riveting than a thesaurus, more filmable than a Harry Potter index-and that's just Brohaugh's footsnorts... Imean, feetsnotes...umfeetsneets?...good gravy I'mglad I'mjust a cartoonist." -John Caldwell, one of Mad magazine's Usual Gang of Idiots This book guarantees you'll never look at the English language the same way again-if you write, read or speak it, it just ain't possible to live without this tell-all guide. ("Ain't," incidentally, is not a bad word.)
