Product Description

A wry and engaging look at trite, trendy, grammatically incorrect, inane, outdated, and lazy uses of words, phrases, and expressions.

By turns gleefully precise and happily contrarian, this is a highly opinionated guide to better communication. In Literally, the Best Language Book Ever, author Paul Yeager attacks with a linguistic scalpel the illogical expressions and misappropriated meanings that are so commonplace and annoying in everyday conversation. Identifying hundreds of common language miscues, Yeager provides an astute look at the world of words and how we abuse them every day.

For the grammar snobs looking for any port in a storm of subpar syntax, or the self-confessed rubes seeking a helping hand, this witty guide can transform even the least literate into the epitome of eloquence.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15234 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-06
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Review
““If hearing lines such as ‘I could care less’ and ‘This doesn’t help the problem’ drives you bonkers, read up.”
--Real Simple

About the Author
Paul Yeager is a managing editor and a freelance writer. As a child, he was annoyed when reading, writing, and arithmetic were referred to as the Three R’s, and he hasn’t changed a bit over the years.

Customer Reviews

Literally, the Best Language Book Ever:
I had hoped this writer would approach the topic with some humor...alas, not one smile evident. Instead, he seems permanently annoyed. And he delivers his boring lecture from a podium high up in the sky where he can look down on the mere peons who ignorantly abuse his language. I bought it as a gift for a writer friend, but changed my mind after skimming through it.

Save your money
To be fair, I must say that the book is not entirely without good material, but what there is, is insufficient to warrant a recommendation. When the author is wrong about a word or phrase, he is spectacularly so. From time to time he appears to believe that an expression is illogical simply because HE does not understand it. While I occasionally found myself nodding in agreement over some entries, I had to restrain myself from throwing the book against the wall after reading others.

Not recommended.

disappointing
This book turned out to both dull reading and unrealistic in its approach to language today. Save your money.