Instant Intellectual: The Quick & Easy Guide to Sounding Smart and Cultured

With more than 200 foreign phrases, Latin terms, idiomatic expressions, and literary expressions, this little reference aids anyone in acquiring a cultured vocabulary. Accessible, handy, and fun, this book includes phonetic spellings and on-the-nose explanations.

Confess. You're perplexed by "palimpsest" and "pari passu." You confound "nebbish" with "nabob" with "mensch." You sport large gaps in your linguistic oeuvre, and they've gone too long untended.

Enter the intellectual (or in this case, a cheap imitation). Featuring definitions of more than 200 of the words, expressions and foreign phrases which have frequented cocktail parties since time immemorial, The Instant Intellectual is ready with the wisdom you need to zip up your vocab.

The word here is short and easy. Nota bene the subtitle, The Quick & Easy Guide to Sounding Smart & Cultured, and don't expect the O.E.D. Definitions are just a few words long; notes on usage are bratty and brief; pronunciation guides are easy to read and included on a need-to-know basis. The book's large font and generous page layout make it easy on the eyes, while the occasional black-and-white cartoon helps liven up the mix.

So whether you're searching for le mot juste, or just want to define it, we'd suggest you suspend your party circuit and consult The Instant Intellectual: easy enlightenment is within your grasp.--Elizabeth Briskin