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Author
Series
Language
English
Description
At a young age, author Jerome K. Jerome found a hobby that he was extremely skilled at, and very passionate about-idleness. He was thrilled at the amount of time he could waste doing nothing, frustrating those around him. However, when Jerome falls ill and is ordered to bedrest, this hobby is tested. Then, he learns that doing nothing is only fun when you have other commitments. This relatable sentiment is explored in the title essay of Idle Thoughts...
Author
Pub. Date
2017
Language
English
Formats
Description
Discover hundreds of entertaining and often hilarious etymological journeys, by the bestselling author of Can Holding in a Fart Kill You?
English is filled with curious, intriguing and bizarre phrases. This book reveals the surprising, captivating and even hilarious origins behind 400 of them, including:
Read between the Lines
Cat Got Your Tongue?
Put a Sock in It
Close, ...
English is filled with curious, intriguing and bizarre phrases. This book reveals the surprising, captivating and even hilarious origins behind 400 of them, including:
Author
Pub. Date
2007
Language
English
Description
Mad hatter . . . pie in the sky . . . egg on your face. We use these phrases every day, yet how many of us know what they really mean or where they came from?
From bringing home the bacon to leaving no stone unturned, the English language is peppered with hundreds of common idioms borrowed from ancient traditions and civilizations throughout the world. In Red Herrings and White Elephants, Albert Jack has uncovered the amazing and sometimes downright...
Author
Pub. Date
2009
Language
English
Formats
Description
Andy Rooney is a classic chronicler of America and her foibles. Over more than six decades of intrepid reporting and elegant essays, Rooney has told it to us straight and without a hint of sugar coating, but with more than a grain of truth and humor.
Andy Rooney: 60 Years of Wisdom and Wit brings together the best of more than a half-century of work (including long-out-of-print pieces from Rooney's early years) in an unforgettable celebration...
Andy Rooney: 60 Years of Wisdom and Wit brings together the best of more than a half-century of work (including long-out-of-print pieces from Rooney's early years) in an unforgettable celebration...
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
"How can you tell your Faulkner from your Franzen if you haven't actually read either? Schwartz expounds on the most important (aka white male) writers of western literature. From Shakespeare's greatest mystery to the true meaning of Kafkaesque, she tests your knowledge of which Jonathan-- Franzen, Lethem, or Safran Foer-- hates Twitter and lives in Brooklyn. So instead of politely nodding along next time you make an acquaintance at a housewarming...
Author
Language
English
Description
"An unconventional guide to the English language drawn from the cross-country adventures of an itinerant grammarian."--
"When Jovin first walked outside her Manhattan apartment building and set up a folding table with a Grammar Table sign, it took about thirty seconds to get her first visitor. Everyone had a question for her. Jovin soon took it on the road, traveling across the US to answer questions from anyone who uses words in this world. Here...
Author
Pub. Date
2012
Language
English
Formats
Description
From the popular blog, a hilarious and horrifying survey of quotation mark abuse in all its forms.
From the sarcastic to the suggestive, here are quotation marks as we love them best, doing horrible damage to the English language. Who wouldn't have second thoughts about ordering the "hamburger" on the diner's menu? Would it be best to skip the "blowout" sale at the department store? What hidden price must be paid for something marked "free"?...
From the sarcastic to the suggestive, here are quotation marks as we love them best, doing horrible damage to the English language. Who wouldn't have second thoughts about ordering the "hamburger" on the diner's menu? Would it be best to skip the "blowout" sale at the department store? What hidden price must be paid for something marked "free"?...
Author
Pub. Date
2022
Language
English
Formats
Description
"Ghost of the Hardy Boys is an elegant book, full of charm and pathos and whimsy. The writing is restrained, the characterizations deep and rich, the humor nuanced."
—Washington Post
As millions of boys and girls devoured the early adventures of the Hardy Boys, little did the young readers and aspiring sleuths know: the series' author was not Franklin W. Dixon, as the cover trumpeted. It was Leslie McFarlane, a
Author
Language
English
Formats
Description
This edition includes a modern introduction and a list of suggested further reading. When Evan MacIan, a fervent Catholic, becomes enraged by an atheist newspaper, he challenges the editor, James Turnbull, to a duel. Turnbull, just as passionate in his atheism as MacIan is in his Catholicism, eagerly accepts. Their sword fight interrupted wherever they go, MacIan and Turnbull duel with words. The more MacIan and Turnbull debate, the more they realize...
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