{"product_id":"9781429922784","title":"Alphabetter Juice: or, The Joy of Text","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFresh-squeezed Lexicology, with Twists\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eNo man of letters savors the ABC's, or serves them up, like language-loving humorist Roy Blount Jr. His glossary, from \u003ci\u003ead\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003ehominy\u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003ezizz\u003c\/i\u003e, is hearty, full bodied, and out to please discriminating palates coarse and fine. In 2008, he celebrated the gists, tangs, and energies of letters and their combinations in \u003ci\u003eAlphabet Juice\u003c\/i\u003e, to wide acclaim. Now, \u003ci\u003eAlphabetter Juice\u003c\/i\u003e. Which is \u003ci\u003ebetter\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book is for anyone—novice wordsmith, sensuous reader, or career grammarian—who loves to get physical with words. What is the universal sign of disgust, \u003ci\u003eew\u003c\/i\u003e, doing in \u003ci\u003ebeautiful\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ecutie\u003c\/i\u003e? Why is \u003ci\u003etoadless\u003c\/i\u003e, but not \u003ci\u003efrogless\u003c\/i\u003e, in the Oxford English Dictionary? How can the U. S. Supreme Court find relevance in \u003ci\u003egollywoddles\u003c\/i\u003e? Might there be scientific evidence for the sonicky value of \u003ci\u003ehunch\u003c\/i\u003e? And why would someone not bother to spell correctly the very word he is trying to define on Urbandictionary.com?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDigging into how locutions evolve, and work, or fail, Blount draws upon everything from \u003ci\u003eThe Tempest\u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003eThe Wire\u003c\/i\u003e. He takes us to Iceland, for salmon-watching with a \"girl gillie,\" and to Georgian England, where a distinguished etymologist bites off more of a \"giantess\" than he can chew. Jimmy Stewart appears, in connection with \u003ci\u003ekludge \u003c\/i\u003eand the bombing of Switzerland. Litigation over \u003ci\u003esupercalifragilisticexpialidocious \u003c\/i\u003eleads to a vintage werewolf movie; news of possum-tossing, to \u003ci\u003emetanarrative.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eAs Michael Dirda wrote in \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post Book World\u003c\/i\u003e, \"The immensely likeable Blount clearly possesses what was called in the Italian Renaissance ‘sprezzatura,' that rare and enviable ability to do even the most difficult things without breaking a sweat.\" \u003ci\u003eAlphabetter Juice\u003c\/i\u003e is brimming with sprezzatura. Have a taste.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Farrar, Straus and Giroux","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47153860968688,"sku":"9781429922784","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781429922784_p0.jpg?v=1769901874","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781429922784","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}