What do you think?
Rate this book
The Artful Nuance: A Refined Guide to Imperfectly Understood Words in the English Language
?The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter.? (Mark Twain)
What?s the difference
Nectar and ambrosia? Bough and branch? Astonished and surprised? Sensual and sensuous? Beside and besides?
Many people use these words interchangeably but there are actually subtle and interesting differences in meaning and usage. Now from the author of Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge comes a fun and fascinating word reference book for word lovers, students, and trivia collectors alike. Readers will relish learning about these distinctions in this entertaining homage to a gift we use every day?words.
What?s the difference
Nectar and ambrosia? Bough and branch? Astonished and surprised? Sensual and sensuous? Beside and besides?
Many people use these words interchangeably but there are actually subtle and interesting differences in meaning and usage. Now from the author of Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge comes a fun and fascinating word reference book for word lovers, students, and trivia collectors alike. Readers will relish learning about these distinctions in this entertaining homage to a gift we use every day?words.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 10, 2016
(This rating is for reading the book. It's more like a 3-star book as a reference.)
I liked the idea behind this book. He took pairs (or sets) of words that people get confused (e.g. nerd/geek, gargantuan/gigantic, zeal/zest), and states what the difference is. At times, he does say things like "these do usually have the same meaning, but when they're different, here's the difference."
But there are a few problems. First, this is not a book to read through; it's a book to have on the shelf and to pick up when you run across something. Unfortunately (and second) you can't really look things up. All pairs are listed by the first alphabetically; if that's what you want to look up, fine. But if it's the other word... well, there's no index so you might not be able to find it.
Some of the pairs of definitions are basically independent---you look at them, and they don't really look different. And he doesn't say "here's the difference." He always has a sample sentence, but that doesn't usually help.
He insists on defining the words in alphabetical order, even if that's not what makes sense.
He never really says whether he's being descriptivist and when he's being prescriptivist. My sense is that he's doing a little of both at times, but it's hard to tell.
All of this is exacerbated because he insists on keeping the entries short. I guess that keeps the whole book short, but it takes away from his purpose.
I liked the idea behind this book. He took pairs (or sets) of words that people get confused (e.g. nerd/geek, gargantuan/gigantic, zeal/zest), and states what the difference is. At times, he does say things like "these do usually have the same meaning, but when they're different, here's the difference."
But there are a few problems. First, this is not a book to read through; it's a book to have on the shelf and to pick up when you run across something. Unfortunately (and second) you can't really look things up. All pairs are listed by the first alphabetically; if that's what you want to look up, fine. But if it's the other word... well, there's no index so you might not be able to find it.
Some of the pairs of definitions are basically independent---you look at them, and they don't really look different. And he doesn't say "here's the difference." He always has a sample sentence, but that doesn't usually help.
He insists on defining the words in alphabetical order, even if that's not what makes sense.
He never really says whether he's being descriptivist and when he's being prescriptivist. My sense is that he's doing a little of both at times, but it's hard to tell.
All of this is exacerbated because he insists on keeping the entries short. I guess that keeps the whole book short, but it takes away from his purpose.
May 31, 2013
This is fun word book, but I have to say I wondered about some of the distinctions, like a hot dog is just a frankfurter until you add a bun (really? Who distinguishes that?). If you're a word nerd, though, you'll find plenty to enjoy -- and plenty of fun little factoids to astound and amuse your friends (or just make them roll their eyes at you).
September 23, 2009
This is a super dorky word book, but I loved it! Learned lots of interesting trivia about words...
Read
February 24, 2018?The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter.? (Mark Twain)
What's the difference between:
Nectar and ambrosia? Bough and branch? Astonished and surprised? Sensual and sensuous? Beside and besides?
Many people use these words interchangeably but there are actually subtle and interesting differences in meaning and usage. Now from the author of Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge comes a fun and fascinating word reference book for word lovers, students, and trivia collectors alike. Readers will relish learning about these distinctions in this entertaining homage to a gift we use every day?words.
What's the difference between:
Nectar and ambrosia? Bough and branch? Astonished and surprised? Sensual and sensuous? Beside and besides?
Many people use these words interchangeably but there are actually subtle and interesting differences in meaning and usage. Now from the author of Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge comes a fun and fascinating word reference book for word lovers, students, and trivia collectors alike. Readers will relish learning about these distinctions in this entertaining homage to a gift we use every day?words.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews