Idiomantics: The Weird and Wonderful World of Popular Phrases

Idiomantics: The Weird and Wonderful World of Popular Phrases PDF

Author: Philip Gooden

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2013-06-30

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 1408157438

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Idiomantics is a unique exploration of the world of idiomatic phrases. The very etymology of the word 'idiom' reveals what's so endlessly fascinating about the wide range of colourful phrases we use in everyday speech: their peculiarity. They're peculiar both in the sense of being particular or unique to the culture from which they originate, and in the sense of being downright odd. To cite three random examples - from American English, Dutch and Italian - what on Earth are a snow job, a monkey sandwich story, and Mr Punch's secret? Fascinating and illuminating, Idiomantics explains all... The ideal gift for word buffs and in fact, anyone who enjoys a good yarn, this playful book looks at 12 groups of idioms around the world, looking at subjects such as fun and games, gastronomic delights and the daily grind.

Diplomacy, Communication, and Peace

Diplomacy, Communication, and Peace PDF

Author: William Maley

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-11-15

Total Pages: 447

ISBN-13: 1000224082

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This book is composed of interconnected essays which reflect on challenging new issues related to diplomacy, communication, and peace. This book begins by drawing out some of the challenges for diplomacy that arise from modern theories of semantics and of strategic communication, as well as those posed by the need for secrecy, and by the activities of agents of influence. It then proceeds to examine important issues in contemporary diplomacy, including refugee diplomacy, humanitarian diplomacy, sovereignty, norms, and consular activities. It concludes with an exploration of dilemmas that confront attempts to promote peace through multilateral means, such as the limitations of peacemaking diplomacy, the difficulty of promoting democratic governance, and the problems associated with dealing with morally repugnant actors. The book is grounded in the conception of diplomacy as a social practice with multiple players, and recognises that ‘the state’ has many different elements, and that ‘state actors’ live in worlds shaped not just by their relations with other states, but also by their own complex domestic politics. This book will be of much interest to students of diplomacy, foreign policy, and International Relations.

How to Sound Clever

How to Sound Clever PDF

Author: Hubert van den Bergh

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2010-09-15

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1408125099

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A fun and informative guide to some of the more obscure, curious and tricky words in the English language.

Dictionary of Contemporary Slang

Dictionary of Contemporary Slang PDF

Author: Tony Thorne

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2014-02-27

Total Pages: 513

ISBN-13: 1408181800

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With more than 7,000 definitions, this book provides a definitive guide to the use of slang today. It deals with drugs, sport and contemporary society, as well as favourite slang topics such as sex and bodily functions. In this fully updated fourth edition of the highly acclaimed Dictionary of Contemporary Slang, language and culture expert Tony Thorne explores the ever-changing underworld of the English language, bringing back intriguing examples of eccentricity and irreverence from the linguistic front-line. "Thorne is a kind of slang detective, going down the streets where other lexicographers fear to tread." Daily Telegraph

Black's Veterinary Dictionary

Black's Veterinary Dictionary PDF

Author: Edward Boden

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2015-03-26

Total Pages: 980

ISBN-13: 1408181282

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Black's Veterinary Dictionary has been a bestseller for over 80 years. It is an essential reference tool for all with a professional or leisure interest in the care of animals. Much more than a list of veterinary terms, its practical approach ensures that readers gain an insight into the signs and symptoms of common, and less common, diseases, their diagnosis and treatment. For the 22nd edition much new and updated information has been included, reflecting the numerous developments that have taken place in animal care and husbandry, and welfare. There is greatly expanded coverage of topics relating to popular breeds of dog and cat, and the inheritable conditions that might affect their health. Advances in medicine, surgery and diagnostic techniques; descriptions of newly identified diseases such as Schmallenberg virus; the resurgence of old scourges such as TB in cattle, and ongoing enzootic infections such as bird flu are included in this new edition. The growing risk of exotic diseases such as heartworm being imported following the relaxation of travel arrangements for dogs and cats is reflected in new entries. Notes on many new species being farmed or kept as companion animals are among the thousands of topics covered. Whether your interest is in cats or cattle, horses or hamsters, puppies or pigeons, the A-Z of veterinary matters is covered in Black's Veterinary Dictionary.

Name Dropping

Name Dropping PDF

Author: Philip Gooden

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2008-02-19

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 9780312377397

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Guide to the better known or more intriguing of terms from figures in politics, sports, and the arts as well as history and the classics. Pretentiousness Index ranks items on the spectrum from familiarity to obscurity.

Encyclopedia of Surnames

Encyclopedia of Surnames PDF

Author: John Ayto

Publisher: A&C Black Business Information and Development

Published: 2008-05-29

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780713681444

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The Encyclopedia of Surnames is not just another dictionary! With entertaining coverage of more than 7,000 surnames listed alphabetically, it provides a complete and accessible companion to tracing the history of names. Written by John Ayto, a respected lexicographer and author of titles such as Word Origins, the Encyclopedia of Surnames is the ideal gift or research tool for historians, journalists, genealogists, researchers and anyone interested in tracing their family history. Broad coverage includes supplementary features on famous surnames, surnames of fictional characters, pseudonyms and names from abroad which are popular in the UK, including Celtic names.

Who's Whose

Who's Whose PDF

Author: Philip Gooden

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2009-05-26

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 0802718221

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Have you ever been fazed by the spelling of phased, or fretted over the difference between anxiety and angst, stationery and stationary? If so, you are not alone: the English language is a minefield, full of words that look and sound alike but mean different things in different places. Who's Whose? is an entertaining and essential A to Z guide to the most commonly confused words in English today, with real examples of good and bad usage to make differences crystal clear. In addition to documenting these verbal confusions, it offers a sympathetic guide to the seriousness of each gaffe (the Embarassment rating), an explanation of why it happens, and some handy hints on how to avoid it in future. With Who's Whose in your corner, you'll never again mistake a principle for a principal.

So You Think You Can Spell?

So You Think You Can Spell? PDF

Author: David Grambs

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2009-10-06

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1101140666

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A cornucopia of spelling challenges—from the deceptively simple to the truly vexing—for good, better, and exceptional spellers (or those who want to be). So You Think You Can Spell? is a handy way to go one on one, pencil to paper, against hard, harder, and heartless words. The challenges vary from three- and five-word mini-quizzes to fifty-worders, from tests of quite familiar (but ever misspelled) words to those rife with vowel, consonant, or silent-letter booby traps. This unique volume also tests one's spelling smarts in the arts and sciences, international cuisine, and geography. All in all, this is a book to settle the ultimate question: Just how good a speller are you?

The Book of Prefaces

The Book of Prefaces PDF

Author: Alasdair Gray

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2002-01-01

Total Pages: 644

ISBN-13: 9780747559122

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'Grandly conceived, gorgeously realised, and sparklingly alert to the making not just of works of art, but of a language, this crammed compendium, so copiously yet lightly learned, so drolly self-reflexive, yet enticingly accessible, so exhilaratingly, quixotically magniloquent, is the last word in forewords.' Herald