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Take Our WOrd For It Issue 174
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Melanie Crowley
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Oct 20, 2002 22:45 PDT
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Take Our Word For It Issue 174
http://www.takeourword.com
For Mac users who have trouble with our regular homepage:
http://www.takeourword.com/indexmac.html
**Greetings**
It looks like Sunday evening has become our optimal publishing
time...for now!
**This Week's Issue**
NOTE: The links in this newsletter are good for October 20-October 27
only (unless the next issue is delayed).
In Spotlight, it's Bird Words, part II
http://www.takeourword.com/current/page1.html
In Words to the Wise, we bring you the following words/phrases:
sniper
http://www.takeourword.com/current/page2.html#sniper
camouflage
http://www.takeourword.com/current/page2.html#camouflage
crab apple
http://www.takeourword.com/current/page2.html#crabapple
cole slaw
http://www.takeourword.com/current/page2.html#coleslaw
bogey, birdie, eagle (golf terms)
http://www.takeourword.com/current/page2.html#bogey
In Curmudgeons' Corner guestmudgeon Pablo A. Rajczyk just thinks
http://www.takeourword.com/current/page3.html
In Sez You... we hear about mergers of crows, Caesar, Kaiser and Czar,
still in the loop, isinglass revisited, it's Pig Latin, vaccine=cow.
http://www.takeourword.com/current/page4.html
In Laughing Stock we bring you an interesting marketing technique:
http://www.takeourword.com/current/page5.html
**Book Review by Mike**
Depraved and Insulting English by Peter Novobatzky and Ammon Shea;
Harcourt Inc., soft cover, 256 pp., bibliography, $13.00.
The cover of this book carries the legend "Words to Offend and Amuse"
and that is no lie. Within the covers of this little gem of a dictionary
are some of the most obscurely perverse and downright disgusting entries
I have ever encountered. It is to the credit of the authors that they
are frequently hilarious at the same time. Each entry includes a short
passage to demonstrate the word's correct usage. At first glance I
assumed that this was merely a device to pad the text but in fact the
demonstration passages turned out to be among the great joys of this
book. Here is a sample entry:
Paraphiliac: A person addicted to unorthodox sexual practices.
"At his first meeting of Paraphiliacs Anonymous, Wexler learned that he
wasn't the only person in the world to have fallen head over heels for a
small Ming vase."
(compare Varietist)
Word etymologies are not provided for every entry but where they are
included they are well-researched and sound. All in all, this is a
delightfully outrageous book but not one to be left around where a frail
great-aunt might chance upon it.
We have included this book in our Book Store:
http://www.takeourword.com/bookStore.html
**Laughing Stock**
Please send us funny clippings or photos (text is fine, too) for use in
Laughing Stock and if we use yours, you'll get an Amazon.com gift
certificate for $10! We're running low on funny material! Help! This
week Alex Howansky wins the gift certificate.
**Curmudgeons' Corner**
Don't stop being curmudgeonly! Barb and Malcolm are having to actually
WRITE something these days! But thanks to Pablo A. Rajczyk for his
contribution this week.
**Quiz**
We are putting the finishing touches on it and should have it next week.
**Next Week**
We should be back next week (computer, internet connectivity, and
[temporary] health problems notwithstanding!) with a new issue!
Until next time,
Take Our Word For It!
Melanie and Mike
http://www.takeourword.com
http://www.takeourword.com/indexmac.html
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