A skilled lexicographer draws on her Atlantic Monthly column about the latest words to present a vocabulary for the fin de siäcle. What's the word for ``sexual activity conducted interactively in cyberspace''? It's teledildonics, states Soukhanov, executive editor of the 3rd edition of The American Heritage Dictionary. She precisely defines this and hundreds of other neologisms, doggedly sniffing out their lexical sources (mahosker ``just may be of Irish or Yiddish origin or of both''). The euphemisms, acronyms, homographs, portmanteaus, and in-your-face babble used by the hippest bumbos, quant jocks, and airy-fairy boy toys from Edge City to Club Fed are laid bare before us. More rap than music, these words may be emblematic of our society at the end of the 20th century; they speak of our values. Our obsession with health, for instance, has led to a proliferation of specialties, such as emporiatrics (travel-related diseases), and emphasis on gender roles to use of the word wife as a verb. Some of the coinages, like informate, narcokleptocracy, and schmooseoisie, have a leaden ring, and their continued currency seems dubious. A few others (morph, glass ceiling) may have already buzzed their way into our lexicon for good. Most, though, are surely nonce words, trendy and ephemeral. And most, to add to the fun, are not self-explanatory— or as the author puts it in the case of a verb compound, ``its unitary meaning cannot be deduced from the meanings of each of its constituent elements.'' Along with her evident professionalism, Soukhanov can sling the slang and pitch the kitsch with enough gusto to entertain any reader interested in the morass of new lingo that defines our lives. A detailed investigation of some loose words—most not yet entombed (so to speak) in dictionaries—by a pro who talks the talk.
Pub Date: June 7, 1995
ISBN: 0-8050-3564-8
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1995
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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