No Uncertain Terms: More Writing from the Popular "On Language" Column in The New York Times Magazine - Hardcover

Safire, William

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0743242432 ISBN 13: 9780743242431

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2003

Synopsis

Examines and provides comments on language trends while tracing the origins of timely words and phrases that discuss such topics as technology, entertainment, and everyday life.

About this title

About the Authors

William Safire is a senior columnist for The New York Times. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1978 for distinguished commentary and now serves on the Pulitzer board. A former speechwriter for President Nixon, Safire is the author of twenty-five books, including Safire's New Political Dictionary, the speech anthology Lend Me Your Ears and the novels Freedom, Sleeper Spy and Scandalmonger. He lives in Washington, D.C.

William Safire is a senior columnist for The New York Times and a former speechwriter for President Nixon.

Reviews

For over two decades, Safire's "On Language" column for the New York Times Magazine has made him probably the most widely read commentator on the English language today, and he has turned those columns into more than a dozen books (Let a Simile Be Your Umbrella, etc.). There is no one more adept at dissecting lexical linkages, spotting linguistic lapses and tracing coinages. In this outing, he brings back columns first published between 1997, and 1999, a period rife with words relating to "Clinton's Monicagate." For instance, the Congressional Record mistakenly recorded Monica Lewinsky's gift to the president as a "chochki." What Safire calls "linguistic lawyering" got the record corrected to read "tchochke." Safire notes, "Ms. Lewinsky gave it the proper English pronunciation, and the transcriber took the spelling of the final vowel from that." Probing puns and neologistic splinterings such as bagelwich, Safire covers computerese, examines euphemisms, considers the propriety of new compound words ("something there is that doesn't like a hyphen"), takes issue with the vogue of "having an issue" and sallies with slanguists. We learn that the verb canoodle may be related to the German dumpling called Knoedel. Here are words from Web sites, politicians, Pentagonians and other phrasemakers. The columns are often followed by reader reactions, and these informative responses can veer into invective or erupt into hilarity. Throughout this cornucopia of columns, stimulating, scholarly and thought provoking, Safire remains a witty wordsmith, even in his closing acknowledgments: "I stand on the shoulders of giants. (Nobody stands on the shoulders of midgets; that would be cruel)."
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Safire has written his "On Language" column for the New York Times Sunday Magazine for more than 20 years. His is one of the most widely recognized names on the subject of the English language. The latest collection of columns is exactly what one would expect. Most of the subject matter is taken from statements by public figures or companies. Topics include misuse of words or phrases, creative uses of words or phrases, meanings that change slowly over time, and slang trends. Also included are responses from readers, which, together with Safire's own pieces, make for interesting and satisfying discussions of a number of language issues. Some of the subjects covered may be more advanced than what the average high-school English class teaches, but there is plenty more that will be accessible to most readers. Safire's name and impressive credentials make this a worthy addition to any collection. The content within will ensure that it sees respectable circulation. Gavin Quinn
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Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0743242432
• ISBN 13: 9780743242431
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384