Dickson's Word Treasury: A Connoisseur's Collection of Old and New, Weird and Wonderful, Useful and Outlandish Words [Paperback]

Paul Dickson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1992 | ISBN-10: 0471551686 | ISBN-13: 978-0471551683 | Edition: 1

Will appeal to anyone who enjoys language or who wants to learn new and interesting words. Includes 58 collections of words, from Acronyms to Written Words. There is a wealth of new material, including brand new sections on ``animalisms'' (e.g., ``bullpen,'' ``catnap,'' ``as the crow flies,'' and more); words stemming from family folklore; a glossary for decoding journalese; colorful and intriguing slogans; a behind-the-scenes look at how dictionaries are researched and prepared. Includes the Guiness Book of World Records collection of over 2,000 synonyms for the word ``drunk.''

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Some people collect antiques or rare wines; Dickson collects words. The prolific author of popular reference works (e.g., What Do You Call a Person From . . . ? , LJ 1/90; Slang! , LJ 4/1/90) here offers a revised and expanded edition of Words ( LJ 7/82). Organized into 57 categories ranging from acronyms and alimentary words to words at work and written words , Dickson's treasury employs as its sources scholarly publications, old trade catalogs, specialized dic tionaries, interviews with dictionary editors, and discussions with a wide range of people from bartenders to colonels. The chapter on acronyms lists many familiar only to librarians--e.g., GODORT, MAGERT, and LIRT--plus such gems as GWIBIT (Guild of Washington Incompetent Bureaucratic Idea Throatcutters), a term coined in 1943 by Representative Karl E. Mundt. In "Animal Talk II" Dickson notes that to browse at a library means to "nibble" at the books. In a chapter on measured words we learn that a quintoquadagintillion is the number 1 followed by 138 zeros and that while the United States and France define a trillion as 1 followed by 12 zeros, Great Britain and Germany insist that it is 1 followed by 18 ze ros. "Neologisms" reveals that a bladderclock is the use of your bladder as an alarm clock. "Soused Synonyms II" lists 2,626 words and phrases that mean "drunk"--a list even longer than the one that earned Dickson a spot in the Guinness Book of Records. Dickson is a national treasure who deserves a wide audience. His latest book will find favor with game players and word lovers everywhere.
- Brian E. Coutts, Western Kentucky Univ. Libs., Bowling Green
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher

Will appeal to anyone who enjoys language or who wants to learn new and interesting words. Includes 58 collections of words, from Acronyms to Written Words. There is a wealth of new material, including brand new sections on ``animalisms'' (e.g., ``bullpen,'' ``catnap,'' ``as the crow flies,'' and more); words stemming from family folklore; a glossary for decoding journalese; colorful and intriguing slogans; a behind-the-scenes look at how dictionaries are researched and prepared. Includes the Guiness Book of World Records collection of over 2,000 synonyms for the word ``drunk.''

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471551686
• ISBN-13: 978-0471551683
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #311,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paul Dickson is the author of more than 45 nonfiction books and hundreds of magazine articles. Although he has written on a variety of subjects from ice cream to kite flying to electronic warfare, he now concentrates on writing about the American language, baseball and 20th century history. His most recent titles include Drunk: The Definitive Drinker's Dictionary, The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, Sputnik: The Shock of the Century and Slang: A Topical Dictionary of Americanisms.