Depraved and Insulting English (Paperback)

by Peter Novobatzky (Author), Ammon Shea (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
A merger has taken place between Peter Novobatzky and Ammon Shea's books Depraved English and Insulting English. The result? Depraved and Insulting English. "Some of the entries are lascivious," the authors say, "some revolting, and others derogatory. A few are all of these things." This book will provide blissful browsing for anyone who ever got a fourth-grade thrill from looking up naughty words in the dictionary or, later, felt a frisson of pleasure from using obscure but racy words that few others understood. Many of the terms here--such as coprolagnia, cypripareunia, hybristophiliac, peotillomian, and sacofricosis--sound downright illicit. More intriguing are the words that sound perfectly acceptable, like blissom, feist, and plooky. But watch out for the plooky fellow who lets out a feist when he blissoms; he's actually a pimply guy who farts silently while copulating with ewes. Eeew. --Jane Steinberg

From Publishers Weekly
Peter Novobatzky and Ammon Shea, the gleefully naughty authors of Depraved English and Insulting English, combine their two guides to the puerile side of our popular tongue into one salty volume, efficiently titled Depraved and Insulting English. Sure, the words mome, limberham, encopresis are good, but what's better are the authors' usage examples, which demonstrate a mischievous exuberance. Explaining a particularly intense form of voyeurism, the authors write: "Being struck suddenly blind would have taxed any man, but for Mr. Bigelow, with his acute scopophilia, it smacked of divine vengeance."
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harvest Books; 1 edition (August 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156011492
• ISBN-13: 978-0156011495
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #313,322 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect light reading for the linguistic connoisseur, March 24, 2004

By	Susan Howson (Richmond, VA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I received this as a gift and have since bought it for others. Is truly as it describes itself - a reference book that you can start reading at any page.

The only problem is that you find yourself reading too much at a time, and the definitions will stick as memorable, but the words don't. Often at work I have really wanted to call someone "an odor resulting from the belching of an intoxicated person" but the specific word escaped me. Read slowly and try to use a word a day to get the most out of this book.

The gems of this book are the words that sound so dirty but actually have very appropriate meanings. Example: Who wouldn't get upset when called a "pricklouse"? Me, because I know it just means "tailor".

This is a perfect gift for the word (or insult) enthusiast who has everything.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny and, at times.... useful!, March 2, 2003

By	Shikambu (Venice, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

Though I wished this book was a little more organized (beyond simple alphabetizing), I still found it most useful. Great vocabulary to have, especially when you want to let someone have a peice of your mind but don't actually want them to hear you... but you kind of do... but don't... you know the situation.. this book is the key to solving that paradox! So the next time that jobberknowle takes 11 items to the 10-items-or-less isle at the grocery store and starts to pay with a check, you'll find yourself speaking to him/her on terms they aren't familiar with!! Ever been around people who spoke a different language than you, and you knew they were saying something about you but you didn't know what? ...now it's time to level the playing field!! This book is written all in fun, and reads like a book even though it is in dictionary format. You'll definitely get a kick out of it. Some words in the book aren't fully detailed enough to understand, and others are downright useless, but overall this book is a fun read... I do think 10 bucks is a bit steep though... buy it used!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars impulse shopping, October 3, 2002

By	Michael O (Santa Cruz, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I was standing at a bookstore's special orders desk, waiting and I picked up this little volume. I was stunned. My laughter flowed like water in Niagra. I've used several of the lovely words, with friends and associates. Last night at my poker game I gave a small educational lecture about the english language, and made sure to keep my drink next to me - so with my compatriots newfound knowledge, they would not find a moment to leint my beer. I recommend this book to anyone that find's language interesting and/or useful.