How to Sound Really Clever by Hubert Van Den Bergh
Outfoxed by words like condign, Zelig-like and agitprop? Unsure of the true meanings of nonplussed, disinterested and gauntlet? How to Sound Really Clever explains over 600 words that you really ought to know but haven’t had time to look up in the dictionary. In this sequel to the bestselling How to Sound Clever, author Hubert van den Bergh brings together more words that have made him raise an admiring eyebrow when hearing them trip off other people’s tongues, or smile when seeing them in newsprint. The stories behind the everyday words that pepper this book may surprise you – like that behind pastiche (and why it derives from the Italian for ‘piecrust’) – and will help you clear up those linguistic riddles that no one around a dinner table ever seems to be able to explain.
A very handy resource when you need to make those fine distinctions between the ego and the superego, if you can’t tell your exogenous from your endogenous or need to understand what makes for a diegetic soundtrack in a filmHow to Sound Really Clever is a teasing mixture of the half-familiar and the intriguingly obscure, and it’s all done with a light touch. -- Philip Gooden * Author *
This witty book is an alphabetical list of less usual words and expressions which might impress others. Some are recondite, some are more familiar, with clear definitions and guidance on usage. I loved it. -- Dr Bernard Lamb * President of the Queen's English Society *
This witty book is an alphabetical list of less usual words and expressions which might impress others. Some are recondite, some are more familiar, with clear definitions and guidance on usage. I loved it. -- Dr Bernard Lamb * President of the Queen's English Society *
Hubert van den Bergh has worked in London for the past decade. A language enthusiast, he read French and Linguistics at Oxford University. He is the author of How to Sound Clever (Bloomsbury, 2010) and is a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781472922472 |
| ISBN 10 | 1472922476 |
| Title | How to Sound Really Clever |
| Author | Hubert Van Den Bergh |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Information |
| Year published | 2016-08-25 |
| Number of pages | 224 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |