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Words You Thought You
Knew: 1001 Commonly Misused and Misunderstood Words and Phrases
* Editor's Choice: The Baltimore Sun! Are you challenged when searching for that RIGHT word for your job
application, letter, or conversation with family and friends? If so, you are not
alone. Words You Thought You Knew can make a wordsmith out of virtually anyone. Featuring succinct definitions and clear sentence examples of 1,001 common but troublesome words and phrases, this invaluable and practical guide also provides extensive cross-referencing and even a fun quiz to help you determine your mastery of words you thought you knew. Is it “could care less” or “couldn’t care less”? What is the difference between “allude” and “elude”? Is it “toe the line” or “tow the line”? Whether you're a word lover, a teacher, a student, a businessperson, a writer, a speaker, or just someone who cares about language, this book is practical, enjoyable, and a bargain at less than $9. As a result of your perspicacity in choosing this unique guide, you have myriad words at your disposal to prevent any social gaffes in your auspicious future! What People Say About This Book
"A useful, brightly-presented set of admonitions to use language correctly with an emphasis on errors that have become cliches. It's 'champing at the bit,' not 'chomping.' And she straightens out the lie/lay muddlement nicely and precisely. She's fiercely derisive of anyone who commits the 'could care less' crime against both the ear and reason..." --Michael Pakenham, The Baltimore Sun "A woman after our own hearts! She even includes a quiz at the end! For any of you who read our 'Curmudgeons' Corner' column and don't get it, this book is for you. It is also for those pedants who want to give language transgressors written evidence of their transgressions! It's a nice, little book that makes it easy to carry around..." --Mike and Melanie Crowley, editors of Take Our Word For It word origin webzine (www.takeourword.com) "For anyone who sometimes feels a close kinship to Mrs. Malaprop, this week's [Little Something Extra] may be just what the doctor ordered. It's a little book called Words You Thought You Knew and it's by Jenna Glatzer. It contains an alphabetical list of those troublesome words that cause you to wake up in the middle of the night for weeks after you've made a complete twit of yourself in public. Words such as peremptory and preemptive. As Jenna explains, 'Peremptory is not related to preempt. ... [it] means commanding, not open to debate, or authoritative. Preemptory is a word you'll probably never use; it means 'relating to a settler's right to buy public land at a fixed price.'" --Jennifer Stewart, editor, Write101 (www.write101.com) "Nothing makes a worse impression in a resume, article or term paper than incorrect word usage. This handy small-sized book from Jenna Glatzer offers definitions and examples of usage for 1001 words that are often misunderstood or misused. Words like misnomer, rebut/refute, sycophantic and phrases like 'begs the question' and je ne sais quoi are explained through examples and definitions. This helpful book allows writers to quickly look up words or phrases unclear to them or peruse the book to find words and phrases that might come in handy in a manuscript... This book would make a terrific gift for any writer or student." --The Internet Writing Journal (www.writerswrite.com/journal) "Jenna Glatzer's new title is one of those reference books that you never realized how much you needed until you start reading it. It's chock-full of fascinating words and information, much of which is spiced up by Glatzer's tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. After pithy but easy-to-comprehend descriptions of words and phrases, she includes information about usage and spelling, along with a brief example sentence. The book is an invaluable addition to any person's library and is especially useful for writers and those who love words." --Lori L. Lake, Midwest Book Review About the Author
*The
previous statement was a lie. But
if you buy her books, she’ll give you a big cyber-smoochie. Read an excerpt: firstlyNow here's a stupid word if ever there was one. There may be no other word
that screams, "I'm trying to sound more intelligent by adding an extra
syllable" louder than firstly. My first piece of advice is: don't
use this word. My second piece of advice is: if you simply must, then you have
to follow it up with secondly, thirdly, etc. You can't say
"firstly" and then follow it with "second" and
"third." The reverse is also true: you can't say "first" and
follow it with "secondly." flammable/inflammable I know this one is weird, but these words are synonyms. They both mean that something is able to catch on fire. Considering that, you might as well go with the shorter word. I found out that my pants were flammable when I flicked my lighter in my pocket and soon found myself stopping, dropping, and rolling. flaunt/flout When you flaunt something, you make a grand display of it or show it off. You don't flaunt authority. You flout it. Well, if you're an authority-flouting kind of person, that is. Flout means to scorn or refuse to comply with. He flaunted his good looks by having pictures of himself all over his house. flier/flyer Every time I wanted to print up a paper to hand out, I wasn't sure if I was printing up a flier or a flyer. Turns out that it doesn't matter. Either spelling is acceptable for both meanings (those having to do with flying and papers for circulation). Preferably, handouts are spelled flyers and someone who flies is a flier. The nightclub worker passed out flyers to promote their annual Elvis karaoke
contest. flotsam and jetsam Flotsam and jetsam, rarely seen apart, are used to mean assorted junk. But just in case you're wondering what each word means, flotsam is the junk that floats out to sea after a shipwreck, and jetsam is the stuff that's been thrown overboard and washes ashore or sinks. Our attic houses all sorts of flotsam and jetsam that we can't bring ourselves to throw out. flummox Someone flummoxes you when they bewilder you. Flummoxed means confused. I didn't mean to flummox you with my directions. I'm sorry you ended up in the wrong state. folderol "Picture, if you will, a medieval minstrel singing a ballad," say Mike and Melanie Crowley, founders of Take Our Word For It, a word origin webzine (www.takeourword.com). "He is making it up as he goes along but every now and then his inspiration fails him. Rather than commit the sin of silence, he sings fal-al-deral, folderol, or some similar gobbledygook. It was the medieval equivalent of la-la-la. From being a nonsense word it came to mean nonsense words." He's so medicated that we can't understand a word he's saying; it's all folderol. forbear/forebear As a verb, forbear means to hold back from or resist. Your forebears
are your ancestors, but just to be confusing, the alternate spelling is forebears,
which means you can use either spelling to mean ancestor, but only forbear
as a verb. My forebears are from Italy, where olive oil is almost a beverage. forego/forgo To forego is to go before, usually heard in its adjective form, foregone. Western Carolina University reported that one of its students would "forego his senior basketball year," which means that he would go before his senior basketball year, which makes very little sense. I don't know what it is about college sports that invites this error, but the Official College Sports Network also reported that a Michigan State goaltender would "forego his senior season." The verb they both meant to use was forgo: to do without. Putting on your socks foregoes putting on your shoes. Shameless Comparisons If you like books by Bill Bryson, Barbara Walraff, or Robert Hartwell Fiske, Words You Thought You Knew may be for you.
ORDER HERE from BarnesAndNoble.com ORDER HERE straight from the publisher (Adams Media) ...Or better yet, grab it at your local bookstore! Ask my publicist for review copies and/or interviews: Gene Molter misused words, etymology, word usage, style guide, commonly misunderstood, homophones, grammar book |
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Absolute Write, all rights reserved.
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"
Jenna
Glatzer is an award-winning full-time writer who’s written hundreds of
articles for magazines and online publications such as Prevention, Woman’s
World, Woman’s Own, Physical, Women's Health &
Fitness, Salon.com,
ePregnancy, and
AOL.
