Search - Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists, and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Combinations Thereof; Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips, and Secret Parts, ... With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory

Alphabet Juice The Energies Gists and Spirits of Letters Words and Combinations Thereof Their Roots Bones Innards Piths Pips and Secret Parts With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory Author: Roy Blount Jr. Ali G: How many words does you know? — Noam Chomsky: Normally, humans, by maturity, have tens of thousands of them. — Ali G: What is some of 'em? —                                          ?Da Ali G Show — Did you know that both mammal and matter derive from baby talk? Have you noticed how wince makes...  more » you wince? Ever wonder why so many h-words have to do with breath? Roy Blount Jr. certainly has, and after forty years of making a living using words in every medium, print or electronic, except greeting cards, he still can?t get over his ABCs. In Alphabet Juice, he celebrates the electricity, the juju, the sonic and kinetic energies, of letters and their combinations. Blount does not prescribe proper English. The franchise he claims is ?over the counter.? Three and a half centuries ago, Thomas Blount produced Blount?s Glossographia, the first dictionary to explore derivations of English words. This Blount?s Glossographia takes that pursuit to other levels, from Proto-Indo-European roots to your epiglottis. It rejects the standard linguistic notion that the connection between words and their meanings is ?arbitrary.? Even the word arbitrary is shown to be no more arbitrary, at its root, than go-to guy or crackerjack. From sources as venerable as the OED (in which Blount finds an inconsistency, at whisk) and as fresh as Urbandictionary.com (to which Blount has contributed the number-one definition of alligator arm), and especially from the author?s own wide-ranging experience, Alphabet Juice derives an organic take on language that is unlike, and more fun than, any other.  « less Post This Book Login | Register The Market's bargain prices are even better for Paperbackswap club members! Retail Price: $15.00 Buy New (Paperback): $11.79 (save 21%) or Become a PBS member and pay $7.89+1 PBS book credit (save 47%) ISBN-13: 9780374532048 ISBN-10: 0374532044 Publication Date: 9/29/2009 Pages: 384 Rating: Currently 4/5 Stars.  2 4 stars, based on 2 ratings Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Book Type: Paperback Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio CD Members Wishing: 48 Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

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