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Word Nerd: More than 18,000 Fascinating Facts about Words
 
 
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Word Nerd: More than 18,000 Fascinating Facts about Words [Paperback]

Barbara Ann Kipfer (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Book Description

June 1, 2007
Are You a Word Nerd?

Did you know...
--Only a human (not an animal or thing) is "able" to do something
--The five on dice is called cinque
--"K" for strike-out in baseball comes from the last letter of "struck"
--To skice is to frisk about like squirrels in spring

For word lovers everywhere, Word Nerd is a rich-and fun-compendium of more than 17,000 fascinating facts about words. Bestselling author Barbara Anne Kipfer has spent years compiling little known tidbits about common-and not so common-words in the English language.

Filled with interesting information about words, sure to amaze and spark conversation, this incredible collection is perfect for the word nerd in each of us.

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Phraseology: Thousands of Bizarre Origins, Unexpected Connections, and Fascinating Facts about English's Best Expressions $7.81

Word Nerd: More than 18,000 Fascinating Facts about Words + Phraseology: Thousands of Bizarre Origins, Unexpected Connections, and Fascinating Facts about English's Best Expressions


Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Are You a Word Nerd?

Did you know...
--Only a human (not an animal or thing) is “able” to do something
--The five on dice is called cinque
--“K” for strike-out in baseball comes from the last letter of “struck”
--To skice is to frisk about like squirrels in spring

For word lovers everywhere, Word Nerd is a rich-and fun-compendium of more than 17,000 fascinating facts about words. Bestselling author Barbara Anne Kipfer has spent years compiling little known tidbits about common-and not so common-words in the English language.

Filled with interesting information about words, sure to amaze and spark conversation, this incredible collection is perfect for the word nerd in each of us.

About the Author

Dr. Barbara Ann Kipfer is the author of more than 30 books, including the bestselling 14,000 Things to Be Happy About, The Flip Dictionary, The Order of Things, and several thesauri. She is the managing editor/chief lexicographer for Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com and Reference.com. She lives in Connecticut.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 500 pages
  • Publisher: Sourcebooks; 1 edition (June 1, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1402208510
  • ISBN-13: 978-1402208515
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #235,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

www.thingstobehappyabout.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you're a curious type who spends a lot of time writing, reading, playing trivia or Scrabble, this book will be helpful. Structured as a dictionary-style reference book, it isn't for readers looking for storytelling about linguistics; it's more for trivia purposes, to enhance your vocabulary piecemeal. It is well-suited for skimming through, picking up anecdotes on a plane ride, or leaving out on a coffee table for guests to pick up and read a page, learn 3 new things and move on. It could also benefit a student trying to boost their vocabulary prior to taking the SAT or ACT, if they glanced through a few times a week leading up to the tests.

Not all the descriptions are "fascinating," really, but informative and concisely explain the roots or connections between words. Sometimes only proper pronunciation or acceptable adaptations of the word (like plurals or synonyms) are given, and again this can be helpful to clarify your word usage even if it isn't exactly entertaining. I wish it had some illustrations, just to break it up the text a bit. Many people (like myself) retain information best with some visual aid in connecting words and concepts.
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Book for Word Nerds July 8, 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book may not be for everyone, but it is sure to be for every word nerd. Highly recommended. Many episodes of "I didn't know that -- how interesting." One of my favorites. Verbal popcorn: just can't put it down.
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It's an ok book November 19, 2010
By amye
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
It was not quite what I expected. It is in dictionary format with facts about different words. Honestly, it was kind of confusing and I have yet to really even look through it -which says a lot because I love grammar and word books. The few times I glanced at it, I was some what disappointed because the "fascinating facts" are sometimes just pronunciations. Also, many of the words are odd words I have never heard of. I would check it out at the library before you buy it.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
word first referred, etymological notion, etymological idea, first meant, first pertained, base meaning, first denoted, early meaning
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Barbara Ann Kipfer, Word Nerd, Old English, Old French, Old Norse, Middle English, Middle Dutch, Native American, Mexican Spanish, Middle Ages, West Germanic, North American, Old High German, Old Teutonic, World War, South American, American English, New York, Samuel Johnson, United States, Civil War, New Mexico, Scottish Gaelic, Winnie the Pooh, British English
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