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Totally Weird and Wonderful Words

Author : Erin McKean

Publisher : Oxford University Press

Page : 298 pages

File Size : 16,58 MB

Release : 2006-10-23

Category : Reference

ISBN : 0199886032

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Book Description

Do you know what a snollygoster is? Would you eat something called a muktuk? Do you know anyone who engages in onolatry? Impress your friends and pepper your dinner party conversations with such nuggets as gobemouche, mumpsimus, and cachinnate. You can learn about all of these bizarre and beautiful words and many more in Totally Weird and Wonderful Words. Offering a potpourri of colorful and fascinating words compiled by noted lexicographer Erin McKean, it contains hundreds of definitions, and has been updated to include two new essays, with over 150 words new to this edition. Written in a clear and conversational style, the book contains full-page cartoon illustrations by Roz Chast and Danny Shanahan. Featuring hundreds of words guaranteed to amuse and astonish, this is a book that will appeal to logophiles everywhere. It also features a bibliography of Oxford's dictionaries and a guide to creating your own unusual words correctly from Greek and Latin roots.



More Weird and Wonderful Words

Author : Erin McKean

Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA

Page : 130 pages

File Size : 41,26 MB

Release : 2003

Category : Language Arts & Disciplines

ISBN : 9780195170573

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Book Description

This title digs deep into forgotten corners of the dictionary, gathering both the most spectacular old and the most impressive new words. The result is more than 400 prime specimens with pronunciations, defined in a conversational style.



Weird Words

Author : Dan Clore

Publisher :

Page : 572 pages

File Size : 42,17 MB

Release : 2009-10-01

Category : Literary Criticism

ISBN : 9780982429648

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Book Description

Eldritch . . . cacodaemoniacal . . . lucubration . . . Have you ever wondered about the meaning of these and other esoteric words used by Lovecraft and his colleagues? In this immense dictionary, the product of years of scholarship and research, Dan Clore not only defines thousands of words found in the work of H. P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, and others, but supplies their derivation and, most impressively, provides parallel usages of the words from centuries of English usage, citing authors ranging from Cotton Mather to Henry Kuttner, from Edmund Spenser to Samuel R. Delany. This is a volume that scholars of English usage, enthusiasts of fantasy and horror literature, and readers who love the beauty of the English language will find richly rewarding . . . either to read from beginning to end or to dip into as the mood strikes them. Dan Clore is a free-lance writer and scholar who has published articles in Lovecraft Studies, Studies in Weird Fiction and numerous other journals and critical anthologies. His fiction is collected in The Unspeakable and Others, first published in 2001.



Weird Words

Author : Thalia Quayle

Publisher : Publifye AS

Page : 167 pages

File Size : 12,43 MB

Release : 2024-10-03

Category : Language Arts & Disciplines

ISBN : 8233932000

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Book Description

""Weird Words"" takes readers on a captivating journey through the peculiarities of the English language, exploring etymology, linguistic anomalies, and language evolution. This engaging book delves into the origins of words, grammar quirks, and the fascinating ways language changes over time, offering readers a deeper appreciation for the complexity of English. From contronyms (words that are their own opposites) to ghost words (created by printing errors), the book showcases the rich tapestry of linguistic oddities that shape our communication. At its core, ""Weird Words"" argues that these apparent inconsistencies are not mere obstacles but windows into human culture and history. The book progresses from fundamental language concepts to specific categories of weird words, culminating in an examination of how these peculiarities influence modern communication. Drawing on historical documents, etymological studies, and corpus linguistics, it presents a blend of scholarly insight and accessible explanations. What sets this book apart is its innovative approach, combining storytelling, humor, and interactive elements like ""Word Wizard"" challenges. By balancing academic rigor with a conversational tone, ""Weird Words"" appeals to a wide audience, from language enthusiasts to professionals seeking to enhance their communication skills. It transforms seemingly useless quirks into a celebration of language, inviting readers to embrace the weird and become more conscious, creative users of English.



Weird and Wonderful Words

Author : Erin McKean

Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA

Page : 146 pages

File Size : 29,32 MB

Release : 2002

Category : Humor

ISBN : 0195159055

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Book Description

Lists the meaning of hundreds of bizarre and unusual words and includes a guide to coining new words.



The Silly Book of Weird and Wacky Words

Author : Andy Seed

Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing

Page : 82 pages

File Size : 19,11 MB

Release : 2015-12-03

Category : Juvenile Nonfiction

ISBN : 1408866854

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Book Description

Do you know what 'park your jam on the frog' means? Fancy some ognib? What rhymes with 'circus'? ...plus many more amazing things you never knew about words. Have hours of fun wixing up your murds with this hilarious book, packed full of rhymes, puns, games, jokes, gibberish and more.



The Logodaedalian's Dictionary of Interesting and Unusual Words

Author : George Stone Saussy

Publisher :

Page : 362 pages

File Size : 17,62 MB

Release : 1989

Category : Language Arts & Disciplines

ISBN :

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Book Description

Reprint of the 1984 Oxter English Dictionary, with a substantial appendix of newer words. Literary words are defined and used in context from the fiction of best-selling and less-selling writers published from 1945 to the present. Over 1300 words are defined using examples from 200 novels by 90 authors. No pronunciation. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR



Other-Wordly

Author : Yee-Lum Mak

Publisher : Chronicle Books

Page : 62 pages

File Size : 26,31 MB

Release : 2016-10-11

Category : Reference

ISBN : 1452163111

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Book Description

Discover words to surprise, delight, and enamor. Learn terms for the sunlight that filters through the leaves of trees, for dancing awkwardly but with relish, and for the look shared by two people who each wish the other would speak first. Other-Wordly is an irresistible ebook for lovers of words and those lost for words alike.



The Indispensable Dictionary of Unusual Words

Author : Josefa Heifetz Byrne

Publisher : Skyhorse

Page : 272 pages

File Size : 23,6 MB

Release : 2012-07-01

Category : Reference

ISBN : 9781616086503

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Book Description

From aasvogel (the South African vulture) to knurry (full of knots), from melangeur (a machine for making chocolate syrup) to zumbooruk (a small cannon fired from the back of a camel), the words in this book are guaranteed to expand your vocabulary and confound your friends. They may be obscure and even preposterous, but every entry in this eye-opening book has been accepted as a formal or legitimate English word by at least one major dictionary. This dictionary does not claim or attempt to be complete. It is based completely on the editor’s sense of wonder and absurdity. It is educational, yes, but also more fun than any dictionary has a right to be!



Endangered Words

Author : Simon Hertnon

Publisher : Skyhorse

Page : 224 pages

File Size : 22,94 MB

Release : 2015-07-07

Category : Reference

ISBN : 9781632204530

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Book Description

Afterwit, agathism, ambsace, anacampserote, antepenultimate, antimony, and more! “When a word perfectly captures a human truth, humans respond to it in the same way that they respond to a beautiful melody. They smile. They nod their heads. They tell others of their discovery.” So says Simon Hertnon in his introduction to Endangered Words, and after wrapping your tongue around the lexical rarities he offers up to his readers, you’ll have to agree! Hertnon provides one hundred hand-selected rarities, and, in a virtuoso display of concinnity, breathes life into them with his lucid descriptions of their meaning and engaging examples of their usage. Perhaps you are an arriviste enjoying a newfound sense of nikhedonia as you demonstrate your sprezzatura in a given subject. Or maybe you are a desipientplutomaniac destined to a life of poshlost. If this doesn’t describe you, then take your pick of the many wonderful words in this book: Omnistrain Trilemma Aporia Or maybe these are all schlimmbesserungs! Thanks to Endangered Words, you no longer have to be at a loss for words or reach for the clichéd and commonplace. The English language is brimming with ambrosial alternatives, and this compendium offers the cream of the crop. Filled with words to be treasured for their elegant precision, from apophenia to zemblanity, Endangered Words is the perfect handbook for writers, an excellent resource for communicators, and an entertaining read for anyone with an appetite for the very brightest gems of the English language.