Depraved and Insulting English - Softcover

Novobatzky, Peter; Shea, Ammon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0156011492 ISBN 13: 9780156011495

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks, 2002

Synopsis

Originally published as two distinct collections, Depraved and Insulting English brings to light the language's most offensive and obscene words—words that have fallen out of today's lexicon but will no doubt delight, amuse, and in some cases prove surprisingly useful. Who hasn't searched for the right word to describe a colleague's maschalephidrosis (runaway armpit perspiration) or a boss's pleonexia (insane greed)? And what better way is there to insult the scombroid landlord (resembling a mackerel) or that tumbrel of a brother-in-law (a person who is drunk to the point of vomiting) than by calling him by his rightful name?

A compact compendium of ingenious words for anyone who's been tongue-tied, flabbergasted, or dumbfounded, Depraved and Insulting English supplies the appropriate vocabulary for any occasion. Word lovers, chronic insulters, berayers, bescumbers, and bespewers need fear no more—finding the correct word to wow your friends or silence your enemies just got a whole lot easier.

About this title

About the Authors

<div><b>Peter Novobatzky</b> and <b>Ammon Shea</b> are the authors of <i>Depraved English</i> and <i>Insulting English</i>. They both live in New York City.<br></div>

Peter Novobatzky and Ammon Shea are the authors of Depraved English and Insulting English. They both live in New York City.

Reviews

Peter Novobatzky and Ammon Shea, the gleefully naughty authors of Depraved English and Insulting English, combine their two guides to the puerile side of our popular tongue into one salty volume, efficiently titled Depraved and Insulting English. Sure, the words mome, limberham, encopresis are good, but what's better are the authors' usage examples, which demonstrate a mischievous exuberance. Explaining a particularly intense form of voyeurism, the authors write: "Being struck suddenly blind would have taxed any man, but for Mr. Bigelow, with his acute scopophilia, it smacked of divine vengeance."
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Novobatzky and Shea here fuse together their two earlier works, Depraved English and Insulting English, to reintroduce their humorous comments about obscure insults and "depraved" or vulgar words. Two factors make this book more of a humor reading than a reference resource: the exclusive listing of words that most readers have never seen and reliance on author-created examples of word usage instead of quotations. Each entry includes a basic definition, pronunciation, and commentary on how words like fubsy or furfuraceous could be currently used. Since the book lacks authentic quotations or etymology, incredulous readers must rely on the bibliography of dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other resources from which the words were selected. Some cross references are included, but there is no index listing the unfamiliar words by topic. Richard Spears's Slang and Euphemism: A Dictionary of Oaths, Curses, Insults, Ethnic Slurs, Sexual Slang and Metaphor, Drug Talk, College Lingo, and Related Matters offers a more comprehensive and authoritative treatment of the same subject. An optional purchase for circulating collections at public libraries where this type of humor is appreciated. Marianne Orme, Des Plaines P.L., IL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0156011492
• ISBN 13: 9780156011495
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272