- Hardcover: 132 pages
- Publisher: Icon Books Ltd (2 Oct 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1840464836
- ISBN-13: 978-1840464832
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13.6 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
497,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #43 in Books > Humour > Encyclopaedias
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More About the Author
Product Description
Robert McCrum, Observer
"A deeply-felt defence of proper English usage"
Terence Blacker, Independent
"A cool, disdainfully precise A-Z of linguistic misuse"
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
abrogate, arrogate A letter about the international war crimes tribunal in the Guardian on 11 April 2003 stated that powerful nations had 'abrogated to themselves the decision as to whether or not to recognise it' (italics added). Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
abrogate, arrogate A letter about the international war crimes tribunal in the Guardian on 11 April 2003 stated that powerful nations had 'abrogated to themselves the decision as to whether or not to recognise it' (italics added). Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
132 of 143 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Between You and Me,
By
This review is from: Between You and I: A Little Book of Bad English (Hardcover)
This book is,between you and me,a little book of acerbic wit that takes a decidedly snobbish and elitist approach towards the ambiguities of English. The result is an entertaining and stimulating read as might be expected from those whose writing is pushed across the pages with a fiery arrogance.James Cochrane rightly acknowledges that "English is a living language and must change",but it is here that problems arise. Take the word "ilk",for example. Cochrane lambastes his readers for using the word with the meaning of "like" or "kind" instead of "same",but surely this is a prime example of how the meaning of a word has changed. The same might be said of "community" or "light year". On the other hand he is without blame when dealing with the apostrophe,may and might,loathe and loath, and other conundrums of the English language. It is precisely these controversies that make the book so stimulating;it raises questions that makes the reader react with the same verve as the author. A useful book to use in the classroom.
65 of 73 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An absolute hoot ..,
By
This review is from: Between You and I: A Little Book of Bad English (Hardcover)
I was not sure if I dare write a review of this book. It is full of superb examples of the way the English language has been abused in recent years and I wondered if anything I might write would be so full of errors it would be a good advert for the book. Once you have read this book I think you will either put it down and say 'so what' or you will try that bit harder when writing your next document. Either way its a very interesting book and well worth taking the time to read it
124 of 140 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
a bad little book,
By T F Walker (Harpenden, Herts United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Between You and I: A Little Book of Bad English (Hardcover)
I am angry with myself for wasting money on this book which is subtitled "a Little Book of Bad English". I had expected to find a book full of new and old corruptions of the English language, which it is, but the content is very scant. It's composed of just a few, apparently random, examples which offer very little of educational merit. I am sure that it only sells because of the foreword by John Humphrys, but he does little for his reputation by endorsing this trivial 'stocking-filler'.I should advise anyone seeking real substance in this area to buy "Mind the Gaffe" by R L Trask (paperback from Penguin Books, 2002) where they will find at least 5 times as many examples, with more extensive explanations for £4 less.
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