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Charles Harrington Elster

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The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations: The Complete Opinionated Guide for the Careful Speaker Paperback – January 1, 1999

by Charles Harrington Elster (Author)

4.7 56 ratings

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The Big Book Of Beastly Mispronunciations: The Complete Opinionated Guide for the Careful Speaker
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A man who believes there is a correct pronunciation for virtually every word in the English language addresses more than six hundred frequently mispronounced words and includes his reasoning why a particular pronunciation is the proper choice. Original.

Amazon.com Review

"When it comes to pronunciation," says Charles Harrington Elster, "there are two types of people: Those who don't give the subject a second thought and those who do. This book is for those who do." Those who don't will likely dismiss it as a conglomeration of minutiae (mi-N[Y]oo-shee-ee). Elster's Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations combines and expands upon his two previous books on the subject, offering historical pronunciations, authoritative opinions (his own and others'), and meandering explanations. This book is more entertaining than a game of badminton (don't say, "BAD-mitten," which Elster considers sloppy) and more lasting than a daiquiri (that's "DY-kuh-ree"). And best of all, you'll tighten up that flaccid ("FLAK-sid") pronunciation. Kudos ("KOO-dahs") to Elster for setting us straight. For now, anyway--there's a neologism ("nee-AHL-uh-jiz'm") born every day. --Jane Steinberg

From Library Journal

Contending that a laissez-faire ("rhymes with guess way there") approach to English language pronunciation is not acceptable, this appealing guide awakens readers to the sad truth that "lots of people mispronounce words every day and plenty of people notice." Host of National Public Radio's A Way with Words, Elster has expanded and extensively revised his three previous books--including There's No Zoo in Zoology--into one delightful pronunciation guide that is not just for the cognoscenti ("KAHN-yuh-SHEN-tee"). The list of words ranges from "a"--"uh (as in ago)" or "ay (as in ate)"--to "zydeco"("rhymes with try to go"), but Elster goes way beyond a simple list of correct pronunciations. His explanatory essays refer to a wide array of research and reference tools, including dictionaries, etymologies, and such guides as the NBC Handbook of Pronunciation. Some may dismiss Elster's efforts as Sisyphean ("SIS-uh-FEE-in") or his compilation too anal ("AY-nal"). But he presents his entries with such aplomb (the second syllable "rhymes with Tom or bomb") and affection for the double entendre ("DUHB'L ahn-THAN-druh") that one cannot demur ("Pronounce mur as in murder not mural").
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Charles Harrington Elster is a guest contributor to the New York Times Magazines On Language column and has been a commentator on NPR and hundreds of radio shows around the country. He is the author of numerous books, including There Is No Zoo in Zoology and Is There a Cow in Moscow?

Print length

426 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Mariner Books
Publication date

January 1, 1999
Dimensions

6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

0395893380
ISBN-13

978-0395893388
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mariner Books; First edition. No other edition noted or stated. (January 1, 1999)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 426 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0395893380
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0395893388
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.29 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #4,804,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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4.7 56 ratings

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About the author

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Charles Harrington Elster

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Charles Harrington Elster is a writer, broadcaster, and logophile — a lover of words. He has so far published twelve books and numerous articles about the English language, all intended for a general audience (no textbooks or scholarly tomes).

His latest book is "How to Tell Fate from Destiny and Other Skillful Word Distinctions" (October 2018), a combination of a thesaurus and a usage manual designed to help readers choose properly among commonly confused words. It is also available as an audiobook (from HighBridge) narrated by Charlie.

He is also the author of the popular vocabulary-building program "Verbal Advantage" and its even more comprehensive companion program, "Word Workout," which is available both in print and in audio, narrated by Charlie. His other books include "Tooth and Nail" and "Test of Time," vocabulary-building novels for high school students preparing to take the college entrance exams; "There's a Word for It," a lighthearted look at unusual — and unusually useful — words; "What in the Word?" a salmagundi of word lore, wordplay, and advice on usage and pronunciation; "The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations," now in its second edition, which the late William Safire of The New York Times hailed as "the best survey of the spoken field in years"; and "The Accidents of Style: Good Advice on How Not to Write Badly," which Constance Hale, author of "Sin and Syntax," called "useful, nuanced — and funny, too."

Charlie was a consultant for "Garner's Modern English Usage," and he is the pronunciation editor for "Black's Law Dictionary." He was a guest contributor to William Safire's "On Language" column in The New York Times Magazine, and his articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, the San Diego Union-Tribune, and other publications.

Charlie has also been talking about language on the radio since 1985. He has been interviewed on NPR's "Talk of the Nation," "Weekend Edition," and "All Things Considered" and been a guest on hundreds of radio shows around the country. For five and a half years he cohosted a weekly public radio talk show on language called "A Way with Words." He currently appears live for an hour on the third Thursday of each month on KOA 850 AM Denver.

Charlie was born in New York City in 1957 and earned his B.A. cum laude from Yale in 1981. He lives in San Diego.

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4.7 out of 5

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Rockingham 01

Amazing book for important corrections

Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2021

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You'd be surprised at how many words you could be mispronouncing. Highly recommended for everyone, but especially those who speak for a living (actors, voice actors, public speakers, etc.) Be educated and be better.

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Susanna Hutcheson

Absolutely Wonderful! Discover the mistakes you make.

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 1999

Verified Purchase

If you care about how you sound and the way you come across to other people, you'll want this book. It's a reference you'll want in whatever room you're in. You'll discover everyday words that are being mispronounced by newscasters and, more likely, by you. At least I did. And I'm a writer who prides herself on knowing words well! This book is for the American. It gives American pronounciation that is accepted by the educated class. It disdains words that are used for effect. And if a word is right in the UK but not America it will tell you so. Words like Missouri, Vase, the days of the week, yesterday, rather, begin and hundreds more are explained. You will learn the background on the usage. You will learn how to correctly pronounce February. Now that's a challenge! This is a terrific book and I highly recommend it. If I could give it more than five stars I would! Buy it!!

16 people found this helpful

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Jen

for the language buffs

Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2014

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I love this book. If you're looking to end an argument about punctuation (or start one) or for some linguistically fascinating reading this book is tops. I would like to give it 5 stars but it just doesn't contain some words that would seen obvious to myself and others. Still a great book to gift certain people.
*update*
Some people seem to be complaining about the pronunciations he suggests for words that are not American English. Like Newfoundland. He gives the American English pronunciation. In one of his books he explains that his view is when in America, use American pronunciation. He doesn't have a problem with people using other pronunciations this is just his opinion. Like ahn-velope instead of in-velope. One is based on the original French pronunciation. I suppose that it should be expected that pronunciation sticklers would find something to complain about in a book about pronunciation.

One person found this helpful

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J. Stuart

Very funny, very helpful.

Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2009

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I bought one for myself and later bought this one as a gift for my sister-in-law. This book is very funny and is great entertainment for people who like language or literature. It is a perfect gift for someone who likes to speak well or even someone who speaks publicly alot like a teacher, professor, trainer, doctor, nurse, manager, pilot, principal, courier, taxi driver, etc. It's a great addition to anyone's library and would be perfect for home-schoolers. There have been many studies that show those who speak well are more successful in life. That means you need to have a great vocabulary and pronounce your great vocaulary correctly! If you want to get ahead, you have to speak well. This book is helpful in that respect.

One person found this helpful

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Opinionated, But Accurate

Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2014

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I'm a stickler for accurate pronunciation. I cringe at mispronounced words, and I will (gently) correct those who are around me when something grates on my ear. I have found this book to be a great arbiter of what is and is not standard American pronunciation. If people don't believe me, I use this book to buttress my case. I respect the author's views so much that on the (rare) occasion when I am wrong, I will change my position. Obviously, not everyone will agree with the author and pronunciation and usage do gradually shift over time. That having been said, this is one of the easiest and most interesting of the many books on the subject to read.

2 people found this helpful

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Galen

The big book of beastly mispronunciations

Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2011

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This is a compact easy to use book which can be used to settle many an argument. In many instances however it has the capacity to shake the reader's self confidence badly when it upsets his/her habits of many years. Then of course there are the odd pronunciations used by United States dwellers that are quite foreign to those of us in the Antipodes. This is what makes life interesting of course, and I would certainly recommend this little volume which is guaranteed to provide much browsing pleasure.

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Sick of It All

I love Elster, but...

Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2013

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I have to confess that after reading "You Are What You Speak," by Robert Lane Greene, it made the enterprise of language and pronunciation mavenry seem ridiculous. I still give Elster five stars for this magnum opus, but Greene's perspective has profoundly changed my thinking about orthoepic absolutism.

You Are What You Speak: Grammar Grouches, Language Laws, and the Politics of Identity

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R.LAW

Great book for people who want to understand the details of pronunciation.

Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2008

Verified Purchase

This is a great source for discovering the proper pronunciation of popular words in the English language. Many people don't realize they are pronouncing some words incorrectly. If you enjoy language and are a person who attends to fine details when it comes to the contemporary use of language, you will enjoy this source.

As a curious person who enjoys language, I found this book enlightening.

2 people found this helpful

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