Jon Michaels receives a sudden phone call from his brother, informing him that their estranged uncle Rey has been found dead in his caravan on Canvey Island. Recently sacked from his job, carrying a hangover from hell and craving some sort of escape, Jon reluctantly agrees to spend the week on the island to sort through his uncle's belongings - and unearths a disturbing family secret ...
A Pocket Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue is a profane guide to the slang from the backstreets and taverns of 18th-century London. This slang dictionary gathers the most amusing and useful terms from English history and helpfully presents them to be used in the conversations of our modern day. Originally published in 1785, the Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was one of the first lexicons of English slang, compiled by a militia captain who collected the terms he overheard on his late-night excursions to London's slums, dockyards, and taverns. Now the legacy lives on in this colorful pocket dictionary. • Learn the origin of phrases like "birthday suit" and discover slang lost to time. • Handy pocket-sized edition allows you to whip out vintage curse words whenever needed. • An unexpected marriage of lowbrow humor and highbrow wit Discover long lost antique slang and curse words and learn how to incorporate them into modern conversation. A Pocket Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue is perfect for enlivening contemporary conversation with historical phrases; it includes a topical list of words for money, drunkenness, the amorous congress, male and female naughty bits, and so on. • A funny gift for wordplay, language, swearing, and insult fans, as well as fans of British humor and culture • Perfect for those who loved How to Speak Brit: The Quintessential Guide to the King's English, Cockney Slang, and Other Flummoxing British Phrases by Christopher J. Moore; Knickers in a Twist: A Dictionary of British Slang by Jonathan Bernstein; and The Official Dictionary of Sarcasm by James Napoli
In A Vulgar Art, Ian Brodie uses a folkloristic approach to stand-up comedy, engaging the discipline's central method of studying interpersonal, artistic communication and performance. Because stand-up comedy is a rather broad category, people who study it often begin by relating it to something they recognize—“literature” or “theatre”; “editorial” or “morality”—and analyze it accordingly. A Vulgar Art begins with a more fundamental observation: someone is standing in front of a group of people, talking to them directly, and trying to make them laugh. So, this book takes the moment of performance as its focus, that stand-up comedy is a collaborative act between the comedian and the audience. Although the form of talk on the stage resembles talk among friends and intimates in social settings, stand-up comedy remains a profession. As such, it requires performance outside of the comedian's own community to gain larger and larger audiences. How do comedians recreate that atmosphere of intimacy in a roomful of strangers? This book regards everything from microphones to clothing and LPs to Twitter as strategies for bridging the spatial, temporal, and sociocultural distances between the performer and the audience.
Potent, provocative and sometimes shocking, the word vulgar conjures up strong images, ideas and feelings in us all. The Vulgar is the first exhibition to explore the inherently challenging but utterly compelling territory of taste in fashion, from the renaissance through to contemporary design.Examining the constantly evolving notion of vulgarity in fashion whilst revelling in its excesses, you are invited to think again about exactly what makes something vulgar and why it is such a sensitive and contested term.Drawn from major public and private collections worldwide, this richly illustrated volume showcases over 120 stunning objects, ranging from historical costumes to couture and ready-to-wear looks.With contributions from leading contemporary designers including Chlo�, Christian Dior, Christian Lacroix, Miuccia Prada, Elsa Schiaparelli, Philip Treacy, Viktor & Rolf, Louis Vuitton and Vivienne Westwood.This book contains fascinating literary definitions by curator Judith Clark (Professor of Fashion and Museology, University of the Arts, London), and psychoanalyst and writer Adam Philips, alongside interviews with several leading contemporary designers.Taking the definitions as a starting point, more than 200 stunning images are also included - weaving together historic dress, haute couture and ready-to-wear fashion, textile ornamentation, manuscripts and photography.Published on the occasion of the exhibition, The Vulgar: Fashion Redefined at the Barbican Centre, London (13 October 2016 - 15 February 2017).
A politician’s son gets involved in a murder, and drags Brady along with him Running for governor on the Republican ticket, Tom Baron needs his image to be squeaky clean. He employs men like Brady Coyne, a compassionate Boston attorney, to keep problems far away from his campaign. But when his son doesn’t come home one night, Tom’s political strategy becomes a criminal matter. His son’s girlfriend has been murdered, and the boy has no alibi. To protect his friend’s political ambitions, Brady digs into the investigation, finding a trail of drugs and corruption that stretches far across the Eastern seaboard. Tom Baron may be his friend, but Brady Coyne will stomach no cover-up. If the son is guilty and Tom is involved, Brady will come down on the would-be governor with a fury that will make Boston politics look like a student council election.
Throughout history, most dictionaries have served the purpose of preserving the purity of the language, usually preferring the erudite vocabulary of the affluent upper classes to the salty, constantly evolving slang of their working-class counterparts. That began to change in the early modern period, when several innovative lexicographers began publishing collections of slang terms used by particular subcultures, such as criminals. According to scholars, Francis Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue is one of the most important and complete of these early slang dictionaries. Spend some time with this fascinating volume to learn the slang definitions of words and phrases like "poisoned" (pregnant), "shooting the cat" (vomiting after excess alcohol consumption), and "snoozing ken" (a brothel).
Native to Europe, Vespula vulgaris, the common wasp, has been inadvertently transported around the globe - usually travelling quietly, unseen, sleeping in people's cargo. Today in New Zealand, the highest known wasp densities have up to 40 nests per hectare. Though we know them as pests, wasps are amazingly efficient predators with some exceptionally smart behaviours. Vespula vulgaris excels as both a hunter and an invader. Some people find them pretty tasty too. In this book, entomologist Phil Lester describes the many fascinating and lesser-known sides of the common wasp. He asks: how can we manage wasps? Can we ever learn to live with them? What can they teach us about the challenges we face for pest control? With warmth, wit and intelligence, "The Vulgar Wasp" tells the story of the common wasp and its impact on us and our biodiversity.
Viruses are just as mysterious as they are dangerous. Even scientists have a hard time understanding exactly what makes them work. From the debate about whether viruses are living or nonliving to the understanding of how exactly they function, there's a lot to learn about viruses. Young scientists will jump right into the fascinating world of the virus through colorful photographs of viruses in action. Detailed depictions show what they look like through a microscope. Illustrated teaching companions help to encourage an understanding of this complex subject while showing how viruses make us sick.
Award-winning author and artist Mike Curato draws on his own experiences in Flamer, his debut graphic novel, telling a difficult story with humor, compassion, and love. "This book will save lives." —Jarrett J. Krosoczka, author of National Book Award Finalist Hey, Kiddo I know I’m not gay. Gay boys like other boys. I hate boys. They’re mean, and scary, and they’re always destroying something or saying something dumb or both. I hate that word. Gay. It makes me feel . . . unsafe. It's the summer between middle school and high school, and Aiden Navarro is away at camp. Everyone's going through changes—but for Aiden, the stakes feel higher. As he navigates friendships, deals with bullies, and spends time with Elias (a boy he can't stop thinking about), he finds himself on a path of self-discovery and acceptance.
No body speaks in strictly formal address anymore. Not even in China, where the common expressions tossed around in the newly metropolitan cities are far from text book China. This all-new, totally-up-to-date book fills the gap between how people really talk in China and what Chinese language students are taught.
