How to Sound Clever
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| |||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in How to Sound Clever: Master the 600 English Words You Pretend to Understand...When You Don't for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Product Description
Review
'This admirable book is a wholly welcome antidote to the semi-demi-literacy of the 21st century. Go out and buy it!' --Colin Dexter
Product Description
How to Sound Clever explains the etymology of 600 key words you really ought to know, but haven't had the time to look up in the dictionary. Each entry features an etymological description as well as useful example phrases so that readers can quickly see the correct context for each word. Anecdotes and witty illustrations appear throughout to make a book that is entertaining and will help the reader to boost their vocabulary. An ideal gift and a useful book for everyone have to hand when they come across a word you should know, but don't. Colin Dexter has described How to Sound Clever thus: 'This admirable book is a wholly welcome antidote to the semi-demi-literacy of the 21st century. Go out and buy it!'
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I've always been insecure about some everyday words like `Luddite' and `egregious' and `invidious' - but the problem was I never got around to looking them up.
So I was delighted to discover this book which positively brims with all these words that were foxing me.
For example, I've read some of George Orwell's novels, but when someone described a situation as `Orwellian', I never knew exactly what this meant. It turns out the word doesn't refer to `Animal Farm' (as I thought it did) but exclusively to Orwell's novel `1984', and so `Orwellian' means `contrary to the well-being of a free society'. This is a classic case of thinking you know a word and so never looking up its exact meaning.
I did already know about 5% of the words in the book but language is such a subjective thing that I guess one book is never going to provide you with every single word you don't know.
And when I have friends over, this book inevitably gets spotted by someone and out it comes - it's a great icebreaker to pass around the table after a meal and get people to select a word and then see who knows the real meaning.
So I was delighted to discover this book which positively brims with all these words that were foxing me.
For example, I've read some of George Orwell's novels, but when someone described a situation as `Orwellian', I never knew exactly what this meant. It turns out the word doesn't refer to `Animal Farm' (as I thought it did) but exclusively to Orwell's novel `1984', and so `Orwellian' means `contrary to the well-being of a free society'. This is a classic case of thinking you know a word and so never looking up its exact meaning.
I did already know about 5% of the words in the book but language is such a subjective thing that I guess one book is never going to provide you with every single word you don't know.
And when I have friends over, this book inevitably gets spotted by someone and out it comes - it's a great icebreaker to pass around the table after a meal and get people to select a word and then see who knows the real meaning.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Are you depressed by the bastardization of the English language into sloganized Grazia cliches and vacuous workplace vernacular ? Well, look no further as here is an effective cure for our verbal afflictions.
It will enable you to use our wonderful words with confidence and pride, elevate your W11 dinner party chat and generate impressed glances of admiration from across the table. 'How to' will also fascinate those that care about the origin of words and the evolution of their meaning.
Language is a constant work in progress - Mr Van den bergh is a brilliant and unvarnished guide for this eternal journey.
It will enable you to use our wonderful words with confidence and pride, elevate your W11 dinner party chat and generate impressed glances of admiration from across the table. 'How to' will also fascinate those that care about the origin of words and the evolution of their meaning.
Language is a constant work in progress - Mr Van den bergh is a brilliant and unvarnished guide for this eternal journey.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
How to Sound Clever is a celebration of the English language; after reading it, you will want to constantly dip back into the book and try out your new vocabulary. The author's enthusiasm for words is infectious, the narrative is filled with fascinating nuggets which have been painstakingly researched. The author's clever use of context, coupled with wonderful illustrations, enables the reader to see how to slip these words into conversation as well as memorise an expanding vocabulary. There is a contagious enthusiasm for the derivation of words, this book is a rich and rewarding read. Everyone should have a copy!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great fun
I have had so much fun with this book, playing people up with words they could not possibly know. Then disappearing when they have run it through dictionary. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Michael Hughes
A disappointment at multiple levels
I am amazed to see that such a book got published.
Despite the dreadfully awkward title, I did not wanted to 'sound clever', but relish from learning beautiful words. Read more
Despite the dreadfully awkward title, I did not wanted to 'sound clever', but relish from learning beautiful words. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Matteo
My impression is...
I, too, am intensely interested in the English language, but I already have a pretty good vocabulary as a result of a good education and my own work on the side. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Charles Lewis
Interesting book
I bought this book after reading the positive reviews on Amazon. I was a little perturbed by the some more negative appraisals but chose to take a punt. I am very pleased I did. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Doog
How to sound clever and negative !
Excellent book to dip in and out of. Some words I already knew, but most were new and explained well, some in an amusing way and some with witty illustrations. Read more
Published 17 months ago by scribbler33
Pre-Christmas pressie bed-time reading
Having read a review of this book, we could not wait all that time until Christmas so I bought a copy. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Jayne Crean
For word lovers everywhere
More fun than a dictionary, better plot than Da Vinci Code. It's a great book to dip into but like a certain brand of crisps, once you start you can't stop. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Mr. M. W. Powers
Not quite what I expected.
A passion for English and English words attracted me to this title. Alas I was disappointed. There were very few words reviewed that aren't in my current vocabulary, which is... Read more
Published 19 months ago by John H. Tomkins
words
If you like using words to bring out the best in the way you express yourself
this book is for you. Read more
this book is for you. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Mr. S. M. Withers
I must be cleverer than I thought!
I like books about words, grammar, etc., (sad, I know) and I was looking forward to receiving this one. I have to say I was underwhelmed by it. Read more
Published 19 months ago by D. Edwards
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
