Reviews (5)

A compendium of street-talk, history, poetry, drama, & more
Compiled and organized by educator and professional writer Lawrence Paros, Bawdy Language is a compendium of street-talk, history, poetry, drama, and more, come together in order to create a lexicon of colorful, quaint, euphemistic, and often raunchy terms with which to liven any discussion of sexual matters. Bawdy Language is recommended for being a tongue-in-cheek and highly amusing (yet quite practical) guide to talking dirty while avoiding unpolished obscenity and retaining the respect of one's peers and both genders.

Plain English
It's about words and phrases I relax with, at least conversationally and at least with those with whom I'm most comfortable. It's a hilarious review of a vocabulary we all recognize. Lawrence Paros, while writing a scholarly book, manages to include background, analysis and humor that make these priceless phrases, words, and euphemisms more than merely bawdy and so very much part of our language.

WARNING! May cause riotous laughter and shortness of breath!
I would be VERY careful about reading this book in a public place. I was paging through the marginal trivia and quotes when I first got this book while I was waiting for my friend at Starbucks.Read more

Subjects:  1. Clichés    2. Dictionaries    3. Etymology    4. Human Sexuality    5. Humor    6. Reference    7. Reference / Dictionaries    8. Reference / Word Lists    9. Sex    10. Sexual behavior    11. Slang    12. Terminology    13. Trivia & curious facts    14. Word Lists    15. Clichés   

Reviews (5)

Fun.
A fun read, but looking through Amazon, there may be better books on this subject.

Intriguing, Instructional, Curious
Jordan Almond's "Dictionary of Word Origins" is an intriguing look at phrases and words we all toss about apart from their original meaning. This book is about those original meanings of cliches. as a failed lexicographer
i should hesitate to criticize a fellow drudge in the ditch of language, but Professor Almond's definition of the phrase TIPS was used on a local radio show as an acronym for To Insure Prompt Service. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cliches    2. Clichâes    3. Dictionaries    4. English Etymology    5. English language    6. Etymology    7. Figures of speech    8. General    9. Linguistics    10. Reference    11. Clichés    12. English    13. Historical & comparative linguistics   

Reviews (13)

Absolutely a must
This books provides the best collection of cliches ever.
If you're a writer or do speeches or presentations PERFECT
Love the opening when it says not to beat around the bush or hedge the bet, this is a must-read for every Tom, Dick and Harry under the Sun-- by PEOPLE magazine.Origins of almost every phrase you've ever heard. It's the cat's meow. I'm a writer of books and articles and it is one of half dozen books I keep on the desk, not the shelves-- Great when you want to ROCK THE BOAT or are afraid to RISK LIFE AND LIMB -- fun for using when coming up with a title for an article or when you've got writer's block. Even if you're rolling in the money you need to roll with the punches and get the show on the road....gives the origin, derivation and a sentence as to how the phrase is used . Compact little book 370 pages packed with hundred-- maybe thousands of phrases...don't miss it.

Good Book of Cliches!!
It has a lot of cliches listed but not enough for me though.But I still enjoy flipping through it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cliches    2. Clichâes    3. Dictionaries    4. Dictionaries - Synonyms/Antonyms    5. English language    6. Figures of speech    7. Quotations    8. Reference    9. Sale Adult - Reference    10. Usage    11. Clichés    12. Language Arts & Disciplines / Reference    13. Sale Books   

Reviews (2)

This book rocks
This book is a great give for anyone who loves words and the history of the English language. I bought this book on a lark, but now I can hardly put it down.I have always loved words and how they are put together to make sayings and phrases and this book give a brief history of some time old cliches.

fine reference
This is another fine reference from the Facts on File Writer's Library, and is a terrific resource for writers, readers, students and teachers.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    2. Cliches    3. Clichâes    4. Dictionaries    5. Dictionaries - Synonyms/Antonyms    6. English language    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Language Arts - General    9. Reference    10. Terms and phrases    11. Usage    12. Dictionaries of quotations   

Editorial Review

Clichés, the "coin(s) so battered by use as to be defaced," are anathema to Eric Partridge. He says, "their ubiquity is remarkable and rather frightening," and while he likens proverbs to expressions of wisdom, he says, clichés are instances of "inanition."They all sound familiar, for such is the nature of the cliché. What, for example, does "in the event of an emergency" add, beyond verbosity, instead of "in an emergency"? And so, from "abject apology" to "your guess is as good as mine," he lists, explains, and categorizes more than 2,000 trite and tired phrases to avoid "at all costs." ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Not a bad book but what's the point?
As always, Eric Partridge does a first class job putting this book together.But why do we need a dictionary of cliches?Partridge says so that we know what phrases to avoid using at all costs.Well, if you're not smart enough to know the phrase you're using is a cliche, you're definitely not the type of person who will read this book.Read more

Subjects:  1. HUM000000   

Editorial Review

This is an entertaining little volume, and oddly addictive to folks who love a good, tired turn of phrase. Open to the M's, for instance, and you'll find "mad as a hatter," which is significantly different from "mad as a hornet," plus a variety of "make" phrases, including "make a clean breast," "make a killing," "make a long story short," "make a monkey out of," and "make hay while the sun shines," as well as "make one tick," "make one's mark," and the simple yet evocative "make waves." Fun as it is, however, to read through the well-worn bromides and homilies, one might wonder about the Read more

Reviews (2)

A handy resource for ESL students or any non-native English speaker
I like the small book, well-suited for a carry-on bag, which has much of what one needs to enhance daily communications in English.It helps listening comprehension, especially for sentences you cannot find in regular dictionaries. It serves an excellent niche for those whose mother-tongue is not English and want to add some colors to their communications, either in presentation or comprehension.

Not recommended for those looking for origions of cliches.
This volume fails to reflect the cliche: "You get what you pay for". Read more

Subjects:  1. Bibliographies & Indexes    2. Cliches    3. Clichâes    4. Dictionaries    5. Dictionaries - Idioms & Slang    6. English language    7. Reference    8. Terms and phrases    9. Usage   

Subjects:  1. English language    2. Terms and phrases   

Subjects:  1. English language    2. Terms and phrases   

Reviews (1)

A cliche by any other name...
Don't judge a book by its cover.Ordinarily, I'd avoid this kind of booklike the plague.Still, you can teach old dogs new tricks, and everybodydeserves a second chance.Follow your nose to this book; it's no skin offmy nose if you don't, on the other hand.Not to gild the lily, this bookexplains what cliches mean, and what their origins are, if known.Don'tsay I didn't warn you: some cliches aren't included.But they are theexception that proves the rule.This book usually delivers the goods. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Dictionaries - General    2. English Language Dictionaries    3. Reference    4. Dictionaries    5. Personal names    6. Usage guides