{"title":"Allan Metcalf","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"ok-book-allan-metcalf-9780195377934","title":"OK","description":"It is said to be the most frequently spoken (or typed) word on the planet, more common than an infant's first word ma or the ever-present beverage Coke. It was even the first word spoken on the moon. It is OK - the most ubiquitous and invisible of American expressions, one used countless times every day. Yet few of us know the secret history of OK - how it was coined, what it stood for, and the amazing extent of its influence.  Allan Metcalf here traces the evolution of America's most popular word, writing with brevity and wit, and ranging across American history with colourful portraits of the nooks and crannies in which OK survived and prospered. He describes how OK was born as a lame joke in a newspaper article in 1839, used as a supposedly humorous abbreviation for \"oll korrect\" (i.e, \"all correct\"), but should have died a quick death, as most clever coinages do.  However OK was swept along in a nineteenth-century fad for abbreviations, was appropriated by a presidential campaign (one of the candidates being called \"Old Kinderhook\"), and finally was picked up by operators of the telegraph. Over the next century and a half, it established a firm toehold in the American lexicon, and eventually became embedded in pop culture, from the \"I'm OK, You're OK\" of 1970's transactional analysis, to Ned Flanders' absurd \"Okeley Dokeley!\" Indeed, OK became emblematic of a uniquely American attitude, and is one of the country's most successful global exports.  Anyone who loves the life of words or the quirky corners of American culture will find this delightful book more than just OK.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49616396943633,"sku":"GOR002939167","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49753044812049,"sku":"CIN0195377931G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52403267240209,"sku":"NLS9780195377934","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53013766766865,"sku":"NIN9780195377934","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53239243505937,"sku":"CIN0195377931VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0195377931.jpg?v=1776767527"},{"product_id":"from-skedaddle-to-selfie-book-allan-metcalf-9780199927128","title":"From Skedaddle to Selfie","description":"From baby boomers with 'groovy' and 'yuppie' to Generation X with 'whatever' and 'like,' each generation inevitably generates original words that come out of its social and historical context. Those words not only tell us a great deal about the people in those generations, but also highlight the differences between them and other generations.   In this book, Allan Metcalf, author of OK, uses a special framework of defining American generations to show that each generation of those born within a particular 20-year time period can be identified and characterized by words it chooses to use. By sampling from as far back as the American Revolution, Metcalf carefully constructs a comprehensive account of the history and usage of words associated with each generation in the American language. With special attention to the differences in vocabulary among the generations currently living-the sometimes awkward Millennials, the grunge music of Generation X, hippies among the Boomers, and bobbysoxers among the Silents - From Skeddadle to Selfie compiles dozens of words we have come to recognize or use and tells the unheard stories of each in its role of accompanying its generation through the times.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49630266786065,"sku":"GOR007407309","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49652899905809,"sku":"GOR013137988","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50345763766545,"sku":"CIN019992712XVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50953627566353,"sku":"CIN019992712XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/019992712X.jpg?v=1751070731"},{"product_id":"ok-book-allan-metcalf-9780199892532","title":"OK","description":"It is said to be the most frequently spoken (or typed) word on the planet, more common than an infant's first word ma or the ever-present beverage Coke. It was even the first word spoken on the moon. It is \"OK\"--the most ubiquitous and invisible of American expressions, one used countless times every day. Yet few of us know the hidden history of OK--how it was coined, what it stood for, and the amazing extent of its influence.    Allan Metcalf, a renowned popular writer on language, here traces the evolution of America's most popular word, writing with brevity and wit, and ranging across American history with colorful portraits of the nooks and crannies in which OK survived and prospered. He describes how OK was born as a lame joke in a newspaper article in 1839--used as a supposedly humorous abbreviation for \"oll korrect\" (ie, \"all correct\")--but should have died a quick death, as most clever coinages do. But OK was swept along in a nineteenth-century fad for abbreviations, was appropriated by a presidential campaign (one of the candidates being called \"Old Kinderhook\"), and finally was picked up by operators of the telegraph. Over the next century and a half, it established a firm toehold in the American lexicon, and eventually became embedded in pop culture, from the \"I'm OK, You're OK\" of 1970's transactional analysis, to Ned Flanders' absurd \"Okeley Dokeley!\" Indeed, OK became emblematic of a uniquely American attitude, and is one of our most successful global exports.    \"An appealing and informative history of OK.\" --Washington Post Book World  \"After reading Metcalf's book, it's easy to accept his claim that OK is 'America's greatest word.'\" --Erin McKean, Boston Globe  \"Entertaininga treat for logophiles.\"  --Kirkus Reviews  \"Metcalf makes you acutely aware of how ubiquitous and vital the word has become.\" --Jeremy McCarter, Newsweek","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50162664833297,"sku":"GOR003874946","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50186637377809,"sku":"CIN0199892539VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51000187748625,"sku":"NIN9780199892532","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52103087227153,"sku":"CIN0199892539G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52136475984145,"sku":"NLS9780199892532","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0199892539.jpg?v=1776766471"},{"product_id":"predicting-new-words-book-allan-metcalf-9780618130085","title":"Predicting New Words","description":"Have you ever aspired to gain linguistic immortality by making up a word? Many people - such famous writers as Jonathan Swift, Lewis Carroll, and Dr. Seuss, along with many lesser-known - have coined new words that have endured. But most of the new words people put forward fail to find favour. Why are some new words adopted, while others are ignored? Allan Metcalf explores this question in his fascinating look at new-word creation. In surveying past coinages and proposed new words, Metcalf discerns lessons for linguistic longevity. He shows us, for instance, why the humourist Gelett Burgess succeeded in contributing the words blurb and bromide to the language but failed to win anyone over to bleesh or diabob. Metcalf examines terms invented to describe political causes and social phenomena (silent majority, Gen-X), terms coined in books (edge city, Catch-22), brand names and words derived from them (aspirin, Ping-Pong), and words that derive from misunderstandings (cherry, kudo). He develops a scale for predicting the success of newly coined words and uses it to foretell which emerging words will outlast the twenty-first century. In this highly original work, Metcalf shows us how to spin syllabic straw into linguistic gold.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50357528461585,"sku":"CIN061813008XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50428984426769,"sku":"GOR013947231","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51004929769745,"sku":"NIN9780618130085","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51421264478481,"sku":"GOR014268892","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51681471725841,"sku":"GOR006044679","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52430691827985,"sku":"NLS9780618130085","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52628439925009,"sku":"CIN061813008XVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/061813008X.jpg?v=1751073611"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-allan-metcalf.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}