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Description and Opinions
Product 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 and logodaedaly, breathes life into them with his lucid descriptions of their meaning and engaging examples of their usage. 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 anacampserote to sprezzatura 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.
So cool...  Being a writer, I loved this little book. My brother bought it for me and it's always a joy to flip through. It's become a bit of an inside joke between me and my brother to say the word "schlimbesserung" in public (Noun: A so called improvement that makes things worse).
intriguing for the word hound  Forget crosswords and word finds! If you find you are bored with "Ameri-Common" vernacular, this book will challange and entertain you. The author does not list as many words as I expected, but still it is a good value for the money.
If you liked spelling bees as a kid, you will appreciate this book.
Endangered Words  Purchased for a friend who probably already knew all of the endangered words. She enjoyed it!
Fun Among the Almost-Ancient  What a delight this little tome is! Far from being an imbroglio, or embroglio if you prefer, it captures the sense of and reason for continuing to use these interesting and entertaining bits of vocabulary. Words of varied origins have always enriched the English language, and this collection is no exception. The etymologies enhanced by quotations showing the words in use and the brief expository notes argue for keeping the words active. Logophile or not, readers will soon be feeling papilionaceous (like a butterfly or a sweet pea, as does this reviewer depending on the mood) from the enjoyment this book provides.
Awesome book  Bought this book for a friend as per his addiction to obscure words and he loved it. Great book. |