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Awkword Moments
Ross Petras
Kathryn Petras
其他書名
A Lively Guide to the 100 Terms Smart People Should Know
出版
Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
, 2020-03-10
主題
Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / General
Social Science / Popular Culture
Language Arts & Disciplines / Spelling & Vocabulary
ISBN
1984856391
9781984856395
URL
http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=hcudDwAAQBAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api
EBook
SAMPLE
註釋
A compendium of 100 words and phrases smart people use--even if they only kinda sorta (secretly don't) know what they mean--with pithy definitions and fascinating etymologies to solidify their meanings.
Your boss makes a joke about Schrodinger's cat--which is something you've heard of but you're a little vague about what exactly happened (or didn't happen) with that cat. Or you're reading a
New Yorker
article that explains that "Solecism slipped into solipsism into full-blown narcissistic project." An excellent point . . . if you're sure what "solecism" means . . . or, for that matter, "solipsism."
Language gurus Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras to the rescue! In the breezy and entertaining yet informative style of their
New York Times
bestseller
You're Saying It Wrong
, they give you a brief rundown on words smart people
should
know--from the worlds of science and the arts to philosophy, and from broader topics like quantum physics and ontology to more specific ones like
Plato's cave
and
trompe l'oeil
. They cover the Latin phrases we hear and read (
prima facie, sui generis
, and the like) as well as those that have entered our vocabularies from other languages (
bildungsroman, sturm und drang
).
These are the words that, if you were asked directly, "What does this mean?" you might hem and haw and try to change the subject. After reading this book, you won't have to.