- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Pocket Books; Rev Upd edition (July 5 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1416510869
- ISBN-13: 978-1416510864
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 14.8 x 1.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 45 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
If you are a logophile with cacoëthes scribendi, but your stomach simply wambles when you can't find the perfect word, perendinate no more. Logogogue Charles Harrington Elster, clearly an aristophren, has a cure for logolepts in this compendium of grandisonant scholasms, which are both aureate and inkhorn. If fear of altiloquence gives you graphospasm or makes you spartle, don't croosle. Just remember: sophrosyne is recommended. (Translation: If you are a word lover with an incurable itch to write, but your stomach simply rumbles when you can't find the perfect word, delay no more. Word leader Charles Harrington Elster, clearly a person with a superior intellect, has a cure for people who have seizures about words in this compendium of great-sounding learned words, which are both florid and pedantic. If fear of pomposity gives you writer's cramp or makes you flail about, don't whimper. Just remember: wise moderation is recommended.)
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Elster is a journalist, radio commentator on language, and author of useful and entertaining previous books on pronunciation (Is There a Cow in Moscow?, Macmillan, 1990). Here in 12 fascinating and funny topical chapters with attached glossaries, Elster plumbs the oceanic depths of the English language. Aimed at the word lover (verbiore, logomaniac, etc.), 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. An easy-to-read pronunciation is given for nearly every word listed. The style of the essays is conversational, though it resembles a fevered all-night conversation with an amazingly learned and wildly obsessed friend. The list of nearly 600 phobias, arranged alphabetically by the object of fear, is the answer to a reference librarian's prayers. In the same vein as Irwin M. Berent and Rod L. Evans's Weird Words (Berkley, 1995), this book will be in demand by all word mavens and language lovers. Recommended for libraries of all sizes.?Paul A. D'Alessandro, Portland P.L., Me.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Lustful Retreat For The Logomaniac,
By Sandy Held (Freeport, New York USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: There's a Word for It!: A Grandiloquent Guide to Life (Paperback)
A verbivore's delight! If you are a collector of unusual, obscure and fanciful language, this delightful literati gem will take you on a well-organized journey of fabulous, flavorful and forgotten words with a historical perspective and clever samples of usage.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Attention, logomaniacs!,
By A Customer
This review is from: There's a Word for It!: A Grandiloquent Guide to Life (Paperback)
It must be said that if you are looking for a serious reference book to boost a lacking vocabulary, look elsewhere. Using Mr Elster's words may earn you some extremely strange looks. But for those among us who are non-scopophobic and thrive on strange looks, as well as those of us who love the English language, this book should provide endless cachinnation. The blend of true words and nonce-words created from various prefixes and suffixes may at times aggravate those who want to be sure, but how could a real logomaniac be angry with that? Those nonce-words, when they become real, are reminders of exactly how great are the possibilities of this language.
3.0 out of 5 stars
A must for every Aeolist.,
By alan (Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: There's a Word for It!: A Grandiloquent Guide to Life (Paperback)
This reference comes in handy when looking for brainteasers as there are many to stump any student of english from novice to expert.
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