Usage and Abusage (Popular Penguins) - Softcover

Eric Partridge

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141037725 ISBN 13: 9780141037721

Publisher: Penguin, 2008

Synopsis

Usage and abusage takes a long, hard look at the use – and constant misuse – of english declaring war on bad grammar, woolliness of expression and poor choice of vocabulary, this essential guide sets out both to highlight problems and pitfalls and to offer constructive advice on the proper use of english

About this title

Review

Eric Partridge was a master of linguistic scholarship. Author of A Dictionary of Cliches, Shakespeare's Bawdy, and many others, Partridge's Usage and Abusage, first out in 1942, was last updated by him in 1973, six years before his death. But life and language tick on, even without Partridge. Now, Janet Whitcut has revised his classic to keep up with the 1990s. One is reminded that "ablution is now intolerably pedantic" for "hand washing," that errata should be confined to corrections in books, and that precipitously (very steeply) should not be misused in the place of precipitately (violently hurried). The entry on punctuation runs for pages and is lucid, literate, and lively. The "Vogue Words" section is completely updated and provides today's connotations for words and phrases from academic to yuppie, rounding out a scholarly reference that maintains the Partridge standard.

About the Author

The late Eric Partridge was the author of many classic books on the English language.

Janet Whitcut has contributed to many publications including The International Encyclopedia of Lexicography and The Oxford Thesaurus.

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0141037725
• ISBN 13: 9780141037721
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 401