Depraved English

by Ammon Shea and Peter Novobatzky

Book Overview

From "aboiement" to "zooerastia," a guided tour of the lantrified underbelly of the English language This unusual, un-put-downable little volume collects more than three hundred of the English... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312207735
• ISBN13: 9780312207731
• Release Date: August 1999
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 164 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 7.3"

Customer Reviews

"Wordsworth" Knowing

"Depraved English" is a marvelous book, for both young and old. It would come as no surprise to hear that the SAT folks in Princeton were scanning it for a more interesting "800" score challenge!In any case, it certainly would have enhanced my appreciation of the Wordsworthian Lyrical Ballads if a word or two from "Depraved English" had been incorporated into this famous work. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" would have had an additional timeless vigor and gusto!Like a fellow reviewer mentions, I too, first came across the word "callipygian" ("having nicely shaped buttocks")in my college (sic)"daze". My source was another literary gem entitled "Mrs. Byrnes' Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure and Obsolete Words" (which I believe is unfortunately no longer available). And of course, don't forget "steatopygic" (an extreme accumulation of fat on the buttocks). I reckon that the beauty of life is that each, in their own right, are words of the "pygophilous".Wahtever your passions, whatever your tastes, "Depraved English" is a full course meal for word epicureans. Bonne Appetite!

I love this book!

I absolutely love this book! I always knew that there were words out there like this, but I never knew where to find them. I love words, and this was the funniest thing that I've read in years. I'm buying copies for everyone that I know for Christmas.

A really great book

I laughed so hard. My stomach hurt real bad. I got a little bit scared...it felt good in one way, but in another way, I was a bit nervous that some part of me was going to burst. I had to put the book down for a while. A few weeks later, I gathered up the nerve to dip in again. The same thing happened. Whew! Strongly recomended.

funny and smart

Everyone has, at some point, lost a good chunk of time poring over the dictionary in search of new, unusual and even bizarre. These guys did just that and compiled them. Many of the words are sexual in nature, but not all are sophomoric. What I love about the book is that for each word, they write a sentence or more about that word. Sometimes they put the word in a sentence, to put it in better context, other times they explain it or give you some commentary. The book is both hilarious and serious at the same time. Good intellectual fun, bringing new meaning to "increasing your vocabulary."

The funniest book I have ever read!!!

This is probably the single funniest book I've ever read. I never knew that words like this existed. These are the words that I've been looking for to describe everything in life that I thought was indescribable. Furthermore, the author illustrates the words by using each one in a sentence. My friends and I had hours of fun either just reading aloud to each other or using the book to play word games.