Product Description

Nothing makes a person appear more ridiculous than incorrectly using a word in conversation or writing—and having the listener or reader pick up on it.

Words You Thought You Knew . . . features words and phrases people hear and use every day—often incorrectly. Is it "could care less" or "couldn’t care less"? What is the difference between "allude" and "elude"? Is it "toe the line" or "tow the line"?

Forget six-syllable words found only on college entrance exams that people never use! Writer Jenna Glatzer takes a humorous approach to help readers avoid verbal slipups by featuring succinct definitions and sentence examples of common but troublesome words. This unique collection also includes a fun quiz to test readers’ mastery of the words they thought they knew!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #616192 in Books
• Published on: 2003-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

About the Author
Jenna Glatzer is the best-selling author of Outwitting Writer’s Block and Conquering Panic and Anxiety Disorders, among others, and is the founder and editor of AbsoluteWrite.com. Her writing has appeared in numerous anthologies and publications. She holds a degree in communications from Boston University. She lives in New York.

Customer Reviews

I never knew until now
Words You Thought You Knew...1001 Commonly Misused and Misunderstood Words and Phrases by Jenna Glatzer is just that...words you 'thought' you knew.

There are ones I've heard before like lie/lay, affect/effect, it's/its, and irrregardless. Then there are countless others I never knew until now like another THINK coming being the original use of the phrase instead of another THING coming, WHET your appetite instead of WET your appetite, SHOO-in instead of SHOE-in.

I bought this book because I'm a writer who often submits work to a critical eye, and don't want to make a mistake and have an editor or contest judge think 'a good writer should know better' and have my chance at acceptance and recognition fail. I'm sure I'll continue to make some of the mistakes talked about in the book, but maybe now I'll make fewer.

Words You Thought You Knew shouldn't be thought of as a dictionary since the two serve totally different purposes. Jenna's book tells how some words were originally intended to be used while the dictionary reports how words are used by our society now, even if today's definition differs from the originally intended use. It's up to you to decide how to use any given word, but Jenna's book may give a point of view you might not have known otherwise.

If you're interested in learning more about the English language, how some words were meant to be used, like Jenna's style of writing, and her brand of humor, read the book. If not, don't. I enjoyed the book and found the information interesting, but that's just my opinion.

If you're not familiar with Jenna's work, go to www.absolutewrite.com (her website) and look around.

A mixed bag; useful if cross-referenced
First off, there are some good things here. Words that are endlessly misused, for example. Words that are truly difficult to differentiate because the differences are more in the connotation than in the actual definition. Words that are often or can be easily used confused. Words nobody bothered to teach you how to understand and use correctly.

Then again, there are also words that should not be in here at all. Words no one cares about (pneu.... -- who cares!). Words that are used too infrequently to be a part of a book like this (bunghole, confit).


And there are the errors. Words that the author defines too narrowly (diet, depression, via); the "preferred" definition isn't the only correct one. Words that can be either different in meaning or synonymous, depending on the context (such as the debate on "inclusion" and "mainstreaming"). Pet peeves are not the same as errors (done, finished, & completed). And the plain wrong (yes, "hysterical" also means "extremely funny.") Being politically incorrect is not grammatically (or any other use of words) incorrect (gyp -- and that's not a definite reference to gypsies; funny, "redneck" wasn't in there).

This book is fine as one of many references, simply because it does have a number of misused words in one place. But be aware that it has errors and tends to be too narrow in its definitions. You will need other resources. Check what you read here against other sources before you take it to heart.

A little gem!
I've been a high school english teacher for 15 years, and have always considered it important that I use my language well. I bought this book expecting to use it as an occasional reference book, but to my own surprise, I'm reading it cover to cover!

Thanks to the author's interesting, oftentimes humorous, treatment of what could have been a dry, didactic subject, I find myself actually enjoying the reading. And I've found many surprises throughout these pages - "words I thought I knew" but actually had been misusing, as well as many new or previously unused words which I will now "own."

I highly recommend this book to anyone who prides him/herself on using the english language with variety and accuracy.