Anguished English: An Anthology of Accidental Assaults upon Our Language [Paperback]

Richard Lederer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 1996

Anguished English is the impossibly funny anthology of accidental assaults upon our common language. From bloopers and blunders to Signs of the Times to Mixed-Up Metaphors . . . from Two-Headed Headlines to Mangling Modifiers . . . it's a collection that will leave you roaring with delight and laughter.

Help wanteds:

Wanted: Unmarried girls to pick fresh fruit and produce at night.

Two-Headed Headlines:

Grandmother of eight makes hole in one!

Doctor testifies in horse suit.

Modern-Day Malapropisms:

I suffer from a deviant septum.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Dr. Richard Lederer is the author of more than 2,000 books and articles about language and humor. His book Get Thee To A Punnery (Wyrick) earned him election as International Punster of the Year. Dr. Lederer's syndicated column, "Looking at Language," appears in newspapers and magazines throughout the United States. He has ben profiled in magazines as diverse as The New Yorker, People, and the National Inquirer. His words appear regularly in Writer's Digest and The Farmer's Almanac, and he is language commentator on National Public Radio.

About the Author

Richard Lederer is the author of more than 35 books about language, history, and humor, including his best-selling Anguished English series. He is founding cohost of A Way with Words on public radio and his syndicated column, "Looking at Language," appears in newspapers and magazines throughout the United States. He lives in San Diego.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith; 1 edition (October 28, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941711048
• ISBN-13: 978-0941711043
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #974,274 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the few sure-fire laughs in print., November 10, 1998

By 

Louis I. Jaffe (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anguished English: An Anthology of Accidental Assaults upon Our Language (Paperback)

"The World According to Student Bloopers," a section of Lederer's book, has been widely pirated on the Internet and is thus familiar to many, even though they may not know its original source. There's a reason why this text has echoed around the world: One cannot read it without laughing. Other sections of the book, all of which deal with the many misuses, distortions and double-entendres encountered in everyday English usage, aren't quite so laugh-packed, but are still well worth the trip.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, funny, funny!, June 26, 2003

By 

C. S. Stockwell "math person" (Portland, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anguished English: An Anthology of Accidental Assaults upon Our Language (Paperback)

This is one of the funniest books! Make sure you're sitting down, or better yet, lying down whe you read this book. You would also be well-advised to take this book in small doses, if you don't want to die laughing.... :-) Grammar has never been so funny. Then again, I'm not sure if I ought to laugh or cry at how the English language is murdered :-) The drawings in the book are also hilarious.
This book is a most enjoyable way to learn about how not to make mistakes in your writing. It has lots of great lines you can pull out to amuse people with, ( eg. Headline - Milk Drinkers Are Turning to Powder). It would also be great reading during the summer, in preparation for English classes. Absolutely loved it. I also hightly recommend his other books.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure, Unadulterated, Laughable Fun, March 31, 2009

By 

Cece "Not So Usual" (on the brink of sanity) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Anguished English: An Anthology of Accidental Assaults upon Our Language (Paperback)

I first picked up a copy of Anguished English at a used book store 6 or 7 years ago. I was in a particularly foul mood that day. I went home and sat down to start perusing the book. In less than 30 seconds, I was laughing. I read the whole book in an hour or so, laughing myself to tears and stomach pains many times. For years I carried the book in my car, and my friends and I would read portions to each other as we drove around town. The reader would be laughing so hard that they would pass the book to the backseat for someone else to read for awhile. We used it and abused it so much that the binding fell apart and the pages started to fall out.

I moved away from all my friends a couple years ago. One friend came up to visit me and begged to borrow my Anguished English for awhile. I finally gave in. I forgot I gave it to her after awhile. A couple months ago I noticed it was missing. I was telling my friend that it was missing. She said "Don't you remember, you let me borrow it? I can send it back to you if you want it back." The next day I looked on Amazon and was so pleased to find an almost new copy. I told my friend she could keep our old, loved, broken copy.

So now there are at least two happy, laughing people in this world because of Anguished English. You should join us! You won't regret it!