The Last Word
Tales from the Tip of the Mother Tongue
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published:6th Sep '10
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Based on his popular Times column, Ben Macintyre's The Last Word is a treat for every Christmas stocking With his signature wit, perception and enthusiasm for the idiosyncrasies of language, Ben Macintyre will delight lovers of QI Ben Macintyre's Agent Zigzag has sold over 100,000 copies (BookScan); it was shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award and the Galaxy British Book Award for Biography of the Year 2008
Enables you to learn the advantages of having your own signature word. This title shows why the lifts in the House of Commons have posh accents. It also lets you discover the discreet art of the loophemism.Do you know your geek-speak from your geek-chic? Ever wanted to put Humpty Dumpty together again? Can you distinguish Spanglish from Chinglish? We adapt words from other languages, from slang, from developments in science, literature and art. Learn the advantages of having your own signature word; why the lifts in the House of Commons have posh accents; and, discover the discreet art of the loophemism. Witty and utterly delightful, "The Last Word" will tease, tickle and tantalise those who enjoy all things lexical.
'A sprinkling of delightful nuggets about the uses and abuses of the English language' Daily Telegraph Books of the Year 'After reading The Last Word you may feel compelled to tell a "fib" - a poem whose syllables follow the Fibonacci sequence - one of myriad delights in Ben Macintyre's musings on language. Discover the accidental poetry of e-mail spam and the literary joy of peculiar cricketing terms' The Times Books of the Year 'Macintyre is simply a splendidly well-read man ... These pieces come up fresh and even wiser, and all the better for being so collated' Observer
ISBN: 9781408804353
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 20mm
Weight: 227g
320 pages