| Semantricks: A Dictionary of Words You Thought You Knew | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 2 reviews)
Sales Rank: 951324
Category: Book
Authors: Lewis M. Gediman, Nino Denicola, Paul Gediman, Michael B. Laudor
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Studio: St. Martin's Griffin
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
Label: St. Martin's Griffin
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 144
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 6 x 4.4 x 0.3
ISBN: 0312377827
Dewey Decimal Number: 423.0207
EAN: 9780312377823
ASIN: 0312377827
Publication Date: June 24, 2008
Release Date: June 24, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews:
The Devil's Thesaurus August 27, 2008
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 July 24, 2008
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.
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