Mierda!: The Real Spanish You Were Never Taught in School (Plume) [Paperback]

Frances de Talavera Berger (Author), Michael Heath (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 27, 1990 | Series: Plume

One doesn't have to be Jewish to recognize the words which have made their way into every fold of popular language: Chutzpah, Mensch, Tokhes, Mishmash, Nudge, Shtick, Schmaltzy, Schlep, Icky, and so on. Then there are phrases whose meaning and syntax are borrowed from Yiddish: "bite your tongue," "drop dead," "enough already', and "excuse the expression." This hilarious, concise guide includes chapters on the Basic Descriptions of People (the good, the bad, the ugly, and the goofy), the Fine Art of Cursing, Juicy Words and Phrases, Exclamations and Exasperations, and the Fine Art of Blessing.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Spanish

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Plume (June 27, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452264243
• ISBN-13: 978-0452264243
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #904,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A treasury of misinformation, November 13, 2003

By 

Carl Stoll (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mierda!: The Real Spanish You Were Never Taught in School (Plume) (Paperback)

Firstly, I would like to summarize my credentials for writing such a harsh review: I am a quasi-native speaker of Spanish, having learnt the language at the age of five and lived a total of more than twenty years in six different Spanish-speaking countries. Furthermore, I am a federally certified court interpreter for Spanish and have become acquainted with the speech patterns of all Spanish-speaking countries without exception.

Now Ms. Berger clearly is unable to construct a correct sentence in Spanish. Much of her pseudo-Spanish is a crude translation from French and/or Italian. She does get some things right, but spoils it by failing to specify where such words and phrases are used. Cusswords are among the terms which most vary from country to country. A Spaniard curses completely differently from a Mexican or Argentine.

All in all, a waste of time and money.

51 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This book consists of what its title suggests: Mierda, November 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Mierda!: The Real Spanish You Were Never Taught in School (Plume) (Paperback)

This form does not allow a rating of NO STARS, so I had to give it one, even though it doesn't deserve it. For someone who really wants to learn "dirty" idioms in Spanish, Street Spanish (published by Wiley) is MUCH, MUCH better. Frances de Talavera, in Mierda, goes for shock value ONLY and many times gets things wrong. Street Spanish, on the other hand, focuses on many idioms which people actually use, plus it contains a section on how to avoid saying something embarassing (or unintentionally obscene).

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mierda comes in handy sometimes..., February 17, 2000

By 

Patricia (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mierda!: The Real Spanish You Were Never Taught in School (Plume) (Paperback)

...especially for gardening! Actually, I bought this book in college, and it's great! I am a teacher with lots of hispanic students, and it enabled me to understand what vile things they were calling me. I could then politely tell them (in Spanish)how their mothers would enjoy hearing our discussion. It was very effective. My high school age daughter thought it was the most fantastically funny book she had ever read, and is now majoring in Spanish in college. And no, mierda is NOT our favorite word.