Customer Reviews

Words You Thought You Knew: 1001 Commonly Misused and Misunderstood Words and Phrases

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Words You Thought You Knew...1001 Commonly Misused and Misunderstood Words and Phrases by Jenna Glatzer is just that...words you 'thought' you knew.

There are ones I've heard before like lie/lay, affect/effect, it's/its, and irrregardless. Then there are countless others I never knew until now like another THINK coming being the original use of the phrase instead of another THING coming, WHET your appetite instead of WET your appetite, SHOO-in instead of SHOE-in.

I bought this book because I'm a writer who often submits work to a critical eye, and don't want to make a mistake and have an editor or contest judge think 'a good writer should know better' and have my chance at acceptance and recognition fail. I'm sure I'll continue to make some of the mistakes talked about in the book, but maybe now I'll make fewer.

Words You Thought You Knew shouldn't be thought of as a dictionary since the two serve totally different purposes. Jenna's book tells how some words were originally intended to be used while the dictionary reports how words are used by our society now, even if today's definition differs from the originally intended use. It's up to you to decide how to use any given word, but Jenna's book may give a point of view you might not have known otherwise.

If you're interested in learning more about the English language, how some words were meant to be used, like Jenna's style of writing, and her brand of humor, read the book. If not, don't. I enjoyed the book and found the information interesting, but that's just my opinion.

If you're not familiar with Jenna's work, go to www.absolutewrite.com (her website) and look around.

First off, there are some good things here. Words that are endlessly misused, for example. Words that are truly difficult to differentiate because the differences are more in the connotation than in the actual definition. Words that are often or can be easily used confused. Words nobody bothered to teach you how to understand and use correctly.

Then again, there are also words that should not be in here at all. Words no one cares about (pneu.... -- who cares!). Words that are used too infrequently to be a part of a book like this (bunghole, confit).


And there are the errors. Words that the author defines too narrowly (diet, depression, via); the "preferred" definition isn't the only correct one. Words that can be either different in meaning or synonymous, depending on the context (such as the debate on "inclusion" and "mainstreaming"). Pet peeves are not the same as errors (done, finished, & completed). And the plain wrong (yes, "hysterical" also means "extremely funny.") Being politically incorrect is not grammatically (or any other use of words) incorrect (gyp -- and that's not a definite reference to gypsies; funny, "redneck" wasn't in there).

This book is fine as one of many references, simply because it does have a number of misused words in one place. But be aware that it has errors and tends to be too narrow in its definitions. You will need other resources. Check what you read here against other sources before you take it to heart.

I've been a high school english teacher for 15 years, and have always considered it important that I use my language well. I bought this book expecting to use it as an occasional reference book, but to my own surprise, I'm reading it cover to cover!

Thanks to the author's interesting, oftentimes humorous, treatment of what could have been a dry, didactic subject, I find myself actually enjoying the reading. And I've found many surprises throughout these pages - "words I thought I knew" but actually had been misusing, as well as many new or previously unused words which I will now "own."

I highly recommend this book to anyone who prides him/herself on using the english language with variety and accuracy.

As an entrepreneur and business executive I am called upon to give speaches before hundreds of well educated people. Although most of my graduate and post-graduate education was in the sciences, I have always considered the proper use of the English language to be essential in all forms of communication. I cringe when listening to radio announcers, or television news reporters or politicians who commonly and repeatedly maul the English language. As in any craft, be it carpenter, plumber, electrician, physician, or writer, having the best tools that money can buy is not a luxury, as they are a critical to long term success. Ms. Glatzer has created an easy to understand collection of commonly misused and misunderstood words. Her examples of proper word usage are often humorous, which I find to be an added bonus to an excellent English lesson. While I don't see among her credits that she is a teacher, I feel as though she would make an superb educator. I will certainly keep this book next to my dictionary and thesaurus.In her introduction, she states that the English language is ever evolving and therefore what was "proper" a hundred or even fifty years ago may not be "proper" today, and what is "proper" today may not be "proper" a hundred years from now. Ms. Glatzer's book is an excellent reference to keep you from making the mistakes of the past. I would like to see even more words added to her list and perhaps some used and misused colloguialisms but this is not a criticism, merely a wish. I am confident this book will make me a better public speaker and writer.

Jenna Glatzer's new title is one of those reference books that you never realized how much you needed until you start reading it. It's chock-full of fascinating words and information, much of which is spiced up by Glatzer's tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. After pithy but easy-to-comprehend descriptions of words and phrases, she includes information about usage and spelling, along with a brief example sentence. The book is an invaluable addition to any person's library and is especially useful for writers and those who love words.

For all those who `pour' over documents, fall `prostrate' in the face of a threat, insist that Tom Dooley was `hung,' or can't decide if you `empathize' or `sympathize,' this book is for you! ~Lori L. Lake, author of Stepping Out, Different Dress, Gun Shy, Under The Gun, and Ricochet In Time, and reviewer for Midwest Book Review, The Independent Gay Writer, The Gay Read, and Just About Write.

This is a book for those who wish to use English as a weapon of snobbery. It is not particularly useful for those who wish to communicate more clearly.

Unfortunately for the snobs, though, Ms. Glatzer's notes on usage are more haphazard than authoritative. She labels as "mistakes" uses and constructions that are perfectly acceptable in modern English and seems to recognize no authority other than her own opinion.

Some examples:

- "Loan is a noun, not a verb." Using "loan" as a verb has been accepted by dictionaries for decades. Webster's says it is "entirely standard" and was so even in 1870, when a popular writer first declared (mistakenly) that it was wrong.

- "Fun is a noun. It is only a noun. There is no such thing as a 'fun time.'" Well, not while reading this book, perhaps! Again, Webster's dictionary has no mention of the adjective "fun" as ever having been nonstandard, and records its use from 1843.

- Ms. Glatzer instructs us not to use "sight" as a verb ("I sighted a grey whale!"). Again, the dictionaries disagree. Her reason? It's "pretentious." Pretentiousness is bad? How inconsistent can one get?

Words You Thought You Knew does have some useful information, such as distinguishing "bring" from "take" and "emigrate" from "immigrate," but the reader will be hard pressed to tell the useful bits from the nonsense.

The book ends with a quiz. Your score on it will not tell you if you are right or wrong, only whether this arrogant author thinks you are.

At last! I will no longer confuse the fiendish "farther" and "further" in my writing. Never again will the twins, "sit" and "set" torment me, signaling my demise. My rescuer is Jenna Glatzer's latest book, WORDS YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW...
This book is so comprehensive & writer-friendly that I've been using it constantly since I cracked the cover. My copy is already dog-eared & permanently swaybacked from being held open and wedged under my keyboard. In fact, I planned to write this review a couple of weeks ago, but {how embarrassing} I was too busy USING the book to write about it!
True - given enough time, we could all eventually look up the answers to these puzzles ourselves. But when was the last time you had a deadline of "eventually?" What writer wouldn't love having this book handy to clearly grasp the difference between "infer" and "imply" at 3:15 a.m., when he/she is working alone against a 7:00 a.m. deadline? I have personally blessed this author repeatedly while frantically flipping through the pages to find the answers I need. Glatzer has neatly gathered her long hours of research into this tidy book, & organized everything into an intuitive, easy-to-use format. The result is an efficient reference guide that quickly delivers up the desired information. With each new book, Gratzer has proven herself a champion to writers, ready to help us appear even more witty & organized than we really are. Using humor & an easy, conversational style, she once again offers entertainment with information, making this book an essential part of every writer's library.
Do yourself a favor & pick up a copy. I guarantee that, on those "brain cloud" days when you can't think of the correct word, you'll be thankful to have this book on hand.

While this book might be useful for writers, it is entertaining enough that non-writers will enjoy reading it. Her explanations are humorous and easy to understand. There are two reasons that I didn't give it five stars. The first, and she admits this, the book is prescriptive, but dictionaries are descriptive. So, she is stating how words should be used, rather than how they are used. Strict adherence to her definitions could cause some confusion (but she usually points this out). The second reason is some of her definitions are not completely accurate (e.g., Glatzer states that presumption and assumption are the same. They are not. You need reliable evidence before you can make a presumption. No evidence is needed for an assumption.).

Overall, I found this book quite enjoyable and would recommend it to others.

This little book is truly an absolute Must Have. After getting one for myself, I have been giving them away to anyone who "abuses", albeit ignorantly, the English language. One of my beefs lately is with my Mom and Brother - both mistakenly use "anxious" for "eager" among so many others.

It's cheap to own, and makes a really great EDUCATIONAL gift to give away to anyone and everyone on any holiday, birthday, or just a learning tip kind of day, etc.

I very highly recommend this little but oh so important book to everyone wanting to clean up their English language to save yourself and others from blatant ignorance when speaking or writing.

Have a really great educational journey!

Have you ever used a word in a conversation and were not sure it was correct or
wrote a paper using a word and you were not sure of the meaning? If so, WORDS
YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW is the reference book that was written for you.

WORDS YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW is fun, witty and engaging. While I enjoyed
reading it immensely, I also learned a few things in the process, such as the
correct use for the word unbelievable. Unbelievable is commonly used as a synonym for fantastic or great, when it actually means that something is not believable or not the truth. Each entry is followed by a short anecdote on the proper use of the word.

After reading WORDS YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW the reader will have a better command
of the English language and a better writing advantage. You may not be able
to apply your new found knowledge among the general population because the
commonly misused words are widely accepted as correct. WORDS YOU THOUGHT YOU
KNEW is a reference book that every writer and public speaker can benefit from.

Reviewed by Aiesha Flowers
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers