Frantic semantics: Snapshots of our changing language

by John Morrish

This is a humourous collection of columns from the " Saturday Telegraph" . This work looks at the use and abuse of words in current English language usage. What does " it" mean in " It-girl" ? Each entry looks at the history of the word, how it has changed and what it has come to mean.

179 pages, Hardcover

First published October 22, 1999

Reviews

[Xanthi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a slim volume of certain words and their use and abuse. Each entry gives the reader various definitions of the word, and where, when and how it came about in the English language. Furthermore, the reader is often guided through a tangle of how each word has evolved to mean something quite different as time passes. The best thing about this book is the humour - very biting, the way I like it. If you are British or Australian, you will probably understand and appreciate this book more than if you are American. Published in Britain, it contains a lot of UK-centric words and explanations, and the humour is quite British, indeed.

[Benedict Reid · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some newspaper columns are worth collecting in book form. This is not one of them. What would make an interesting sidebar in a weekend section, does not make an interesting book