The 100 words every high school grad should know have been compiled by the editors of "The American Heritage Dictionary"--a must-have for anyone who wants to be well-versed in the English language. ...

The book is a humorously illustrated vocabulary-building resource. Each word is accompanied by a drawing that accentuates its definition. ...

Intended as a tool for writers, a catalyst for debate, or a handrail for the imagination, the declarative audacity of this book can spark discussion from regular folks. The lists endlessly identify the best, worst, least, most, biggest, smallest, hottest, coldest--in short, the ultimate.
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By turns gleefully precise and happily contrarian, Yeager attacks with a linguistic scalpel the illogical expressions that are so commonplace in everyday conversation.
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Have any idea where the word" nerd "came from? This dictionary starts where ordinary references beg off. Discover that "bad hair day" was originated by California teenagers in the early 1990s. Learn that" bikini" comes from the name of a Pacific island used in the 1940s for atomic bomb tests. Learn why a flight data recorder is called a "black box"--even though it's orange.
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Learning everyday expressions is now more convenient for non-native speakers of English thanks to these pocket-size dictionaries. Each is a compact, yet complete and up-to-date, reprint of one of NTC's top-selling ESL titles. ...

From "cowpokes" to "cyber punks," from "flappers" to "gangsta rappers, American Slang" chronicles the ever-evolving, informal, unconventional language we use every day. Expanded and completely updated, this 2nd edition contains thousands of contemporary and traditional slang expressions, including the newest computer lingo and slang from the Internet. Entries Feature: <UL><LI>Definitions <LI>Pronunciations <LI>Time and ...

This unique blend of thesaurus, dictionary, and manual of English usage defines, compares, and contrasts words of similar but not identical meaning--such as "infer" and "imply". More than 6,000 synonyms are included. "Recommended".-- Booklist. ...

A delightfully offbeat and edifying etymological guide to antiquated words, packed with history, fun facts, literary excerpts, and charming drawings. ...

A revised, updated edition of S. I. Hayakawa's classic work on semantics. He discusses the role of language, its many functions, and how language shapes our thinking. Introduction by Robert MacNeil; Index.
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