{"title":"Howard Richler","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"bawdy-language-book-howard-richler-9780773731868","title":"A Bawdy Language","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50289248600337,"sku":"CIN0773731865VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50360806113553,"sku":"CIN0773731865G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0773731865.jpg?v=1750849255"},{"product_id":"how-happy-became-homosexual-book-howard-richler-9781553802303","title":"How Happy  Became Homosexual","description":"Literary Nonfiction. LGBT Studies. An old joke goes like this: What's the difference between a good girl and a nice girl?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnswer: The good girl goes to a party, goes home then goes to bed, whereas the nice girl goes to the party, goes to bed, then goes home. The distinction made between the two types of young ladies would probably have been appreciated by Shakespeare. While we think of nice nowadays as being a synonym for pleasant it wasn't always so; originally the word's meaning conveyed the naughtiness implied in the joke. It wasn't until the middle of the 18th century that this word conveyed the sense of pleasantness that we now associate with the word.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn his book HOW HAPY BECAME HOMOSEXUAL AND OTHER MYSTERIOUS SEMANTIC SHIFTS, Richler educates and entertains us while explaining how words such as nice and gay have changed meanings. Surprisingly, we discover that even many of our nouns and verbs have been in a constant state of flux. For example, originally jeopardy was a term used in chess and to fizzle meant to break wind silently. This morphing of meanings is ever-present, and Richler explains how, even in the last twenty years or so, words such as fulsome are in the midst of a reversal of meaning. So whether you are gay (happy), gay (homosexual) or a melancholy heterosexual, Richler will lead you into a word-world of entertaining change.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50389741568273,"sku":"CIN1553802306G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52152755880209,"sku":"CIN1553802306VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1553802306.jpg?v=1751086982"},{"product_id":"can-i-have-a-word-with-you-book-howard-richler-9781553800491","title":"Can I Have a Word with You?","description":"In his fifth book about language, Howard Richler moves from A to Z with a specifically chosen word for every letter of the alphabet. What especially intrigues him is how words come to mean what they mean, how they lose some meanings and gain others. Always humorous, Richler invites readers into the intimacy of language and allows us to delight in the ever-shifting glories of English.Not since Lynn Truss's Eats, Shoots \u0026amp; Leaves has a book about language been so hilarious and informative. This book is a must not only for the bookshelves of all logophiles, but also as the bible for the many family members and friends whose get-togethers often spark lively linguistic argument.Howard Richler is an intoxicated and intoxicating wordaholic who gets unrepentantly high on all flavors, savors, bouquets, and proofs of words. He is a genuinely certified verbivore who feasts on words. —Richard Lederer, author of Anguished English, Crazy English, and The Miracle of Language.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51565897777425,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51565898563857,"sku":"CIN1553800494VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1553800494.jpg?v=1751118875"},{"product_id":"take-my-words-book-howard-richler-9780921870425","title":"Take My Words","description":"Drawing from his 'Speaking of Language' columns written for The Montreal Gazette, Howard Richler invites readers to enjoy the pleasures of exploring the English language -- which is rapidly becoming the world's lingua franca. Among other things, Richler traces how foreign words invaded the English language over the centuries, and how people's names came into existence. Richler completes his tour of English with a special section on Canadian English. 'Take My Words' also contains many entertaining puzzles, quizzes and word games to challenge readers' skills.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52852712341777,"sku":"CIN0921870426VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53675806654737,"sku":"CIN0921870426G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780921870425.jpg?v=1786134409"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-howard-richler.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}