Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #527151 in Books
• Published on: 1997-12-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .1 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

From Amazon.com
Eric Partridge was a master of linguistic scholarship. Author of A Dictionary of Cliches, Shakespeare's Bawdy, and many others, Partridge's Usage and Abusage, first out in 1942, was last updated by him in 1973, six years before his death. But life and language tick on, even without Partridge. Now, Janet Whitcut has revised his classic to keep up with the 1990s. One is reminded that "ablution is now intolerably pedantic" for "hand washing," that errata should be confined to corrections in books, and that precipitously (very steeply) should not be misused in the place of precipitately (violently hurried). The entry on punctuation runs for pages and is lucid, literate, and lively. The "Vogue Words" section is completely updated and provides today's connotations for words and phrases from academic to yuppie, rounding out a scholarly reference that maintains the Partridge standard.

Chattanooga Free Press
Will be appreciated by language lovers, students, and writers. . . . It now reflects the language changes of the '90s, while retaining succinct and witty essays by Partridge on such subjects as ambiguity, euphemisms, jargon, negation, and puns. . . . A gem of linguistic information.

About the Author
The late Eric Partridge was the author of many classic books on the English language. Janet Whitcut has contributed to many publications including The International Encyclopedia of Lexicography and The Oxford Thesaurus. Janet Whitcut has revised Eric Partridge's popular reference book to reflect the language of well-informed writers, readers, and speakers today. She has also added a section to the book entitled "Vogue Words," which includes words that have acquired a new power and influence.