Thesaurus of Alternatives to Worn-Out Words and Phrases [Hardcover]

Robert Hartwell Fiske (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1994 | ISBN-10: 0898796016 | ISBN-13: 978-0898796018 | Edition: 1

Cliches. Once they were so original, so fresh. Now, everybody uses them, and if your work depends on lively prose, they're a problem. This book is the solution. Fiske takes you on a tour of the world of "dimwitticisms"; moribund metaphors, torpid terms and wretched redundancies that have all the impact of foam-rubber cannonballs. Fiske's comprehensive thesaurus lists hundreds of problem phrases along with witty commentary and useful synonyms that will help you make your writing energetic and interesting. In this book you'll learn: how to keep your prose fat-free; the shelf life of a metaphor; how to avoid insipid similes; why the road to obscurity is paved with superlatives; how to use language with intelligence and panache. You will also learn to identify and change those moldy oldies that can dull your writing style, and then avoid them forever.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Hartwell Fiske is the author of Webster's New World Guide to Concise Writing. A former editor at a well-known publishing house, he now owns Vocabula Communications Company, a writing editing and criticism services in Andover, Massachusetts, where he resides. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 310 pages
• Publisher: Writers Digest Books; 1 edition (September 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898796016
• ISBN-13: 978-0898796018
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,363,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert Hartwell Fiske is the editor and publisher of The Vocabula Review (www.vocabula.com), since 1999 an online journal about the English language, and certainly the principal web destination for anyone interested in words and language.

He is the author of:

* Silence, Language, & Society: A guide to style and meaning, grace and compassion
* The Dimwit's Dictionary
* The Dictionary of Concise Writing
* The Dictionary of Disagreeable English
* 101 Wordy Phrases
* 101 Foolish Phrases
* 101 Elegant Paragraphs
* Speaking of Silence (or Agnes and Otto)
* The Best Words

He is the editor of:

* Vocabula Bound 1: Outbursts, Insights, Explanations, and Oddities
* Vocabula Bound 2: Our Wresting, Writhing Tongue
* And, with Laura Cherry, Poem, Revised: 54 Poems, Revisions, Discussions

He is the owner of Vocabula Communications Company (www.vocabula.com/VCC.asp), which consists of The Vocabula Review and Vocabula Books.