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Linguistics & Semiotics, Humor, Education - General & Miscellaneous, English Language Reference, Fiction Subjects
Crazy English by Richard Lederer β€” book cover

Crazy English

by Richard Lederer
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Overview

In what other language, asks Lederer, do people drive on a parkway and park in a driveway, and your nose can run and your feet can smell? In CRAZY ENGLISH, Lederer frolics through the logic-boggling byways of our language, discovering the names for phobias you didn't know you could have, the longest words in our dictionaries, and the shortest sentence containing every letter in the alphabet. You'll take a bird's-eye view of our beastly language, feast on a banquet of mushrooming food metaphors, and meet the self-reflecting Doctor Rotcod, destined to speak only in palindromes.

Synopsis

In what other language, asks Lederer, do people drive on a parkway and park in a driveway, and your nose can run and your feet can smell? In CRAZY ENGLISH, Lederer frolics through the logic-boggling byways of our language, discovering the names for phobias you didn't know you could have, the longest words in our dictionaries, and the shortest sentence containing every letter in the alphabet. You'll take a bird's-eye view of our beastly language, feast on a banquet of mushrooming food metaphors, and meet the self-reflecting Doctor Rotcod, destined to speak only in palindromes.

Publishers Weekly

Lederer ``adroitly mixes instruction with hilarity by showing that English, though the richest and most widely used of all the world's languages, is `crazy.' The text is a dazzling collection of anagrams, alliterations, idioms, illogical spelling rules and larky oxymora,'' wrote PW. (Sept.)

About the Author, Richard Lederer

Richard Lederer is the author of more than 30 books about language, history, and humor, including his best-selling Anguished English series and his current book, Presidential Trivia. He has been profiled in magazines as diverse as The New Yorker, People, and the National Enquirer and frequently appears on radio as a commentator on language. Dr. Lederer's syndicated column, "Looking at Language," appears in newspapers and magazines throughout the United States. He has been named International Punster of the Year and Toastmasters International's Golden Gavel winner.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Lederer ``adroitly mixes instruction with hilarity by showing that English, though the richest and most widely used of all the world's languages, is `crazy.' The text is a dazzling collection of anagrams, alliterations, idioms, illogical spelling rules and larky oxymora,'' wrote PW. (Sept.)

Book Details

Published
June 1, 1998
Publisher
Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
Pages
224
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780671023232

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