Customer Reviews

Vicious Vocabulary

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I love vocabulary books and have read many over the past 40 years, but none has ever been as entertaining and laugh-aloud funny as Vicious Vocabulary. Phil Eisenhower, the self-proclaimed "Professor Snurd," has created 17 chapters with 85 lists of devilishly fun and funny disparaging words, each list followed by "Basic Barbs," "Brainy Barbs," "Words Your Mother Warned You About," entertaining quotes, and lots of quizzes, followed at the end by "Final Synonym Slurs."

Snurd gleefully explains that his "pejorative put-downs" are "words most likely to be on the SAT or GRE but all the offensive ones so that you can insult people." Vicious Vocabulary is a source of hours of fun while you learn words that will empower your vocabulary in all, but especially (playfully) belittling, situations.

I've learned new vocabulary so fast that I can't even believe. I can't wait to see Phil to write his second book.

This book is a good idea. Why possess a big vocabulary when most of it is simply for comprehension and intelligence--where's the fun in that?!
"Vicious Vocabulary" teaches the more negative, yet just as useful words a person should know.

However, "Vicious Vocabulary" only half-delivers that fun.
Despite a somewhat helpful paragraph at the beginning of each unit (of alphabetical words) that incorporates the words that'll be taught, the definitions of the words are mediocre and meager at best. They are simply too short and reveal little information--denotation, connotation, usages, etc. However, I am comparing this to "Verbal Advantage", a vocab-building book which offers those things. Simply put, "Vicious Vocabulary", although not competing with "Verbal Advantage", simply doesn't compare.

In addition to meager definitions, the words are placed alphabetically. What would be better would be to place them in order of difficulty--and it wouldn't be that hard. For example, which is "harder": flagrant or flagitious? Methinks most are aware of flagrant, but not flagitious (though in "Vicious Vocabulary", the words are simply placed alpha-order).

The last thing I must bring attention to is the quotes. They are completely useless and unnecessary in a vocab-building book. One or two is OK, but to have them underneath EVERY definition?

This book had potential, but unfortunately fell short.

i am aged 7 years. I emanate from Spain and I erudited all of my new words to overawe my co-workers from the erudition works of Vicious Vocabulary! this book helped me learn in an extremely efficient manner. I can now assimilate any word or term and feel so much better about myself! You wouldn't believe that learning all of these words jollification! i want to thank vicious vocabulary for ridding me of my horrific, scientific stupidity. my name does not matter.

What a concept! It's as if Eisenhower combined "Word Smart" with the "Portable Curmudgeon". I especially liked the quotes. I think I've met half of the dweebs this book describes. If you need something entertaining while you chew on your Trig and World History, pick up this book.