Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language

Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language

O'Conner, Patricia T.
Kellerman, Stewart

Paperback

EtymologyGeneral ReferenceGrammar & Style

ISBN10: 0812978102
ISBN13: 9780812978100
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: Aug 24 2010
Pages: 288
Weight: 0.47
Height: 0.65 Width: 5.24 Depth: 8.10
Language: English
Do you cringe when a talking head pronounces niche as NITCH? Do you get bent out of shape when your teenager begins a sentence with and? Do you think British spellings are more civilised than the American versions? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you're myth-informed.

In Origins of the Specious, word mavens Patricia T. O'Conner and Stewart Kellerman reveal why some of grammar's best-known rules aren't--and never were--rules at all. This playfully witty, rigorously researched book sets the record straight about bogus word origins, politically correct fictions, phony français, fake acronyms, and more. Here are some shockers: They was once commonly used for both singular and plural, much the way you is today. And an eighteenth-century female grammarian, of all people, is largely responsible for the all-purpose he. From the Queen's English to street slang, this eye-opening romp will be the toast of grammarphiles and the salvation of grammarphobes. Take our word for it.

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