Family Words: The Dictionary for People Who Don't Know a Frone from a Brinkle [Paperback]

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Broadcast Interview Source
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0934333378
• ISBN-13: 978-0934333375
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,719,961 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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TERRIFIC, September 24, 2007

By 

A. Wirkmaa "Gentleman & Scholar" (Wyckoff, New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Family Words: A Dictionary of the Secret Language of Families (How America Speaks series) (Hardcover)

Although I've suspected that I might be wrong, I've always thought that my family was the only household that had its own lexicon of words and phrases to describe and refer to things both ordinary and unusual. Fearing that others might think that my folks and I were even more odd than we outwardly appeared to be, I kept it all to myself for a long time. But then along came "Family Words" by Paul Dickson.

Now I realize that there is a fascinating and funny world of "inside jargon" common to many people, and Mr. Dickson has tapped into it with his usual wit and intelligence.

Whether you come from a family like mine - where "family words" were almost a second language - or if you grew up sticking strictly to the "King's English" (or something at least reasonably close to it), this is a book that you can't help but enjoy, and I recommend it to anyone who is the least bit curious about this "secret garden" of language, or anyone with a sense of humor.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Grumpy" is an affectionate name for this grandfather, January 10, 1999

By 

W. D Hickman (Reston, Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Family Words: The Dictionary for People Who Don't Know a Frone from a Brinkle (Paperback)

Within my family I'm known as "Grumpy." Not because I have an unpleasant disposition, but because the name slides off a todler's tongue with delightful irreverence and shocks the non-family member with the Hickman family negative-turn-positive use of a happy name.

Paul Dickson has captured the special spirit of family language. With three grandsons under four on the ground and another on the way my family has a fast growing need for its own language. "Nina," aka "Mrs. Grumpy" or Barbara feels the same way.

Grumpy (Bill) Hickman, Reston, Va

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Enjoyable Read for Family Members of All Ages, September 22, 2007

By 

William Young (Arlington, Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Family Words: A Dictionary of the Secret Language of Families (How America Speaks series) (Hardcover)

"Family Words: The Dictionary of the Secret Language of Families" is a delightful book that will amuse family members of all ages. Many of the entries will inspire readers to say, "But in our family, we called them ..." Some of the words are appropriate only within an individual family context, such as the Minnesota family members who referred to their grandmother as "99," because 99 percent of the time when the phone rang, it was her. But others could be useful to anyone, such as the family who uses the term "yesternight" for the evening portion of yesterday. One can tell from the tone and style of the book that the author truly loves language, which is one of the reasons this book is such an enjoyable read.