{"product_id":"9781250066275","title":"Going to Hell in a Hen Basket: An Illustrated Dictionary of Modern Malapropisms","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMalapropism - A word or phrase that has been mistaken for another, usually because of its sound rather than its meaning.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEveryone has made the mistake of using a word or phrase that they think sounds correct, but in fact is not. Malapropisms make some sense. They have a semantic logic to them, even if that logic makes perfect nonsense. In \u003ci\u003eGoing to Hell in a Hen Basket, \u003c\/i\u003eauthor Robert Alden Rubin delights in the creative misuse of words and celebrates the verbal and textual flubs that ignore the conventions of proper English.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCulled from blogs, the deepest corners of the internet, as well as some of the most esteemed publications, here is a collection of classic malapropisms paired with hilarious illustrations. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSome examples include:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e· \u003cb\u003eadieu, \u003c\/b\u003ewithout further - Conflation of bidding \u003ci\u003eadieu\u003c\/i\u003e (saying goodbye) with \u003ci\u003eado\u003c\/i\u003e (complicated doings, ceremony) to mean \"without saying anything more.\"\u003cbr\u003e· \u003cb\u003efeeble position\u003c\/b\u003e - An unborn child in a \u003ci\u003efetal position\u003c\/i\u003e seems weak and helpless, which explains the confusion here. The two words also share some sexist cultural and literary associations. \u003ci\u003eFeeble \u003c\/i\u003e(weak) originates from a Latin word for something\u003ci\u003e to be wept over\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003efetal\u003c\/i\u003e (relating to a fetus) originates from the same preliterate Indo-European word that gives us \u003ci\u003efemale\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cbr\u003e· \u003cb\u003ehone in on\u003c\/b\u003e - Confuses expressions such as \u003ci\u003efinely honed\u003c\/i\u003e with \u003ci\u003ehome in on\u003c\/i\u003e or\u003ci\u003e zero in on \u003c\/i\u003e(focus on, locate) and sometimes with \u003ci\u003ehorn in on\u003c\/i\u003e (intrude upon). \u003ci\u003eHoming, \u003c\/i\u003eas pigeons perform it, often involves flying in narrowing circles until the target is reached. \u003ci\u003eHone \u003c\/i\u003emeans to sharpen; the malapropism conveys the sense of a carefully sharpened instrument and sometimes \u003ci\u003ecutting in\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePerfect for bookworms and wordsmiths, the point here isn't to shame the malapropagandists, but to delight in the twists and turns writers put our language through and to amuse and inform those of us who care about words.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Flatiron Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47030221701360,"sku":"9781250066275","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781250066275_p0.jpg?v=1763701861","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781250066275","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}