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Released today: The Dord, the Diglot, and an Avocado or Two

From: Wordsmith (garg AT wordsmith.org)
To: linguaphileATwordsmith.org
Subject: Released today: The Dord, the Diglot, and an Avocado or Two

You can buy it in bookstores in more than two dozen countries:



Other countries: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, or your local store.

Happy reading!

What could a senator, a Muppet, an advice columnist, and a baseball player all have in common? What is one word that describes Bob Dole, Elmo, Miss Manners, and Ozzie Smith?

They all are illeists.

An illeist is one who refers to himself in the third person (for example: "Miss Manners does not condone ...") and it's one of the words discussed in my new book, released today:

The Dord, the Diglot, and an Avocado or Two:
The Hidden Lives and Strange Origins of Common and Not-So-Common Words

ISBN 9780452288614


This book is published by the Penguin Group and it features stories about words and their origins -- all true stories. You'll learn what the word cantaloupe has to do with the pope, what word is coined after Socrates's wife, and what a wellerism is. Find it in your local bookstore, neighborhood library, or online at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, or your local store.
I'm told it would make a fine gift as well.

I hope you enjoy it. I'm looking forward to your feedback.

-Anu Garg (words-at-wordsmith.org)


Language is the archives of history. -Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

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