Semantricks: A Dictionary of Words You Thought You Knew

By Lewis M. Gediman, Paul Gediman, Michael B. Laudor, et al.

Book Overview

At last, a book for the American Idle. Here is a punny new dictionary of inventive definitions of real words. Acrimony: Spousal support payments following bitter divorce Friction: Novel that rubs you the wrong way Negligence: Woman's forgotten dressing gown Zinfandel: Heathen wine ? Ranging from the merely fetched ( Spaniel: Iberian canine ) to the far-fetched ( Buccaneer: Piracy in corn pricing ) to the neurologically suspect ( Giraffe: Very tall spotted decanter ), Semantricks will surprise, delight, and even stump the most word-wary pundits. Suffix it to say, you'll never look at diphthong the same way again.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312377827
• ISBN13: 9780312377823
• Release Date: June 2008
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 5.5" x 0.4" x 4.9"

Customer Reviews

Tricky!

Semantricks is best opened and read randomly and without aim; each page has something that will give you a smile, but at its best this book will make you laugh out loud. My favorites are the plays on a word's sound (Caracas - Venezuelan small flat biscuits; Scabbard - in Boston the right side of the ship). I'm sure you'll find your favorites - this book will give you a shot of wit to brighten your day.

The Devil's Thesaurus

I don't doubt that Lewis Gediman and his co-authors of "Semantricks" are familiar with the book's spiritual ancestor, Ambrose Bierce's turn-of-the-century satirical work "The Devil's Dictionary." While Bierce's book was more sociopolitical commentary than pun, the formats are certainly similar: pick a word, give a Wildean smirk of a definition. And while Bierce's original audience is mostly dead, the style is just as appealing today. The "definitions" in "Semantricks" range from groaners (Dicker: have sex with a woman) to plenty of legit keepers (Deign: Condescending Scandinavian). By-and-large, this little volume does just what its makers intended, provoking everything from a smirks to a chortle. I had a physics professor who could have gotten a whole semester of torturous one-liners out of this baby, and hopefully I can inflict a few on my friends and family, too. My only critical comment, honestly, is that both the "Forward" and the "Note on Organization" (which basically states that it's in alphabetical order, and there are pictures) are unnecessary - if you get it, you get it, eh? If you're a fan of punny wordplay, "Semantricks" more than the trick. Ambrose woulda been proud.

Get Thee to a Punnery

There is something about a well-constructed pun that delights the mind and makes the sphincter pucker. And, believe me, after reading this book, you will be able to crack walnuts with your butt. It's laugh-out-loud funny, intelligent, witty, and insightful in ways that mainstream humor used to be before America's Funniest Home Videos made The Three Stooges look like Shakespeare. I read it in one sitting. And not because I'm very lonely. Because it's that good! So, if your boss is out of town, and you can't sleep in your cubicle, then buy this book, and have fun cracking up at what these extremely clever guys can do with the English language.