The Game of Words (Hardcover)

~ Willard Espy (Author) "ANY fair-minded person must concede that words are not tools of communication in the way that, say, frowns and kisses are..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Brer Fox, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Attention language lovers: prepare to be taken prisoner. Willard R. Espy, word gamester extraordinaire, has put together more than 200 sublimely satisfying diversions -- including acrostics, clerihews, epigrams, cryptograms, spoonerisms, palindromes, puns, and much, much more.

Presented here are the wildest array of tongue twisters, brainteasers, and other mind-benders new and old, along with notes on their histories, tips on how to play them or solve them, and page after page of mind-boggling challenges you won't find anywhere else. It is a celebration of the energy, wit, flexibility, and fun of the English language by its most ardent aficionado.

About the Author

Willard Richardson Espy (11 December 1910–20 February 1999) was a U.S. editor, philologist, writer, and poet. He is particularly remembered for his anthology of light verse and wordplay, An Almanac of Words at Play, and its two sequels. His writing and poetry regularly appeared in Punch, Reader's Digest, and Word Ways.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers (August 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579123244
• ISBN-13: 978-1579123246
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #986,111 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very positive review which laments the book's unavailability, July 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The game of words (Hardcover)

I am terribly sorry that this marvelous book is out-of-print! Willard Espy has collected a fabulously fun collection of anagrams, tongue twisters, vocabulary stretchers and verbal brain busters in this splendid volume. I have been trying to replace my copy of this book ever since mine was "borrowed" by an acquaintance and never returned! Word to the publisher: REPRINT! I'd rate this one six stars!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the best of word games, August 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Game of Words (Hardcover)

An incredible compendium of every form of word play known to man and womankind. I love this book and wish it was still in print. Right now I have to check it out from the library.