Language Humor

A master class in the art of persuasion, as taught by professors ranging from Bart Simpson to Winston Churchill, newly revised and updated. The time-tested secrets taught in this book include Cicero's three-step strategy for moving an audience to action, and Honest Abe's Shameless Trick for...

Dreyer’s English meets Schott’s Original Miscellany in this delicious tour of the lesser-known wonders of the language world, perfect for language lovers, word nerds, and the incurably curious. A delightful rollick through language unlike any you’ve ever experienced. As the inventor of the...

''A must read! If you want to get your Cajun on, you’ve got to read John Gravois’ fabulous little book,'' says Ken Wells, ex-Wall Street Journal writer and Page One editor, and author of Gumbo Life: Tales from the Roux Bayou' and the Cajun classic coming-of-age novel, 'Meely LaBauve. "It’s fun, factual and full of history, Cajun idioms and their pronunciations. This authentic son of the bayou does a huge service in compact form by helping to illuminate a culture that remains Even if you don't speak a word of French now, with this Berlitz phrase book parody you’ll be able to answer, ...

Paris, 1980. The literary critic Roland Barthes dies - struck by a laundry van - after lunch with the presidential candidate François Mitterand. The world of letters mourns a tragic accident. But what if it wasn't an accident at all? What if Barthes was murdered?

Professor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld is not just any German professor—he is the author of the highly-regarded work of scholarship, Portuguese Irregular Verbs. His eminence in language studies is widely respected, albeit rarely acknowledged by his colleague, Professor Detlev-Amadeus Unterholzer, the writer of a far less important book on the subjunctive. Their rivalry bubbles under the surface, but is quick to come into the open if something unusual disturbs the calm waters of the institute in Regensburg where they both work.

The Grammar of Laughter: Where Words Go Wrong and Right Language is meant to make life easier—but often, it makes things hilariously complicated. The Grammar of Laughter takes you on a witty journey through the quirks, contradictions, and comic disasters of human communication. From grammar slip-ups and punctuation jokes to mistranslations that spark comedy gold, this book explores why words fail, why we laugh, and why humor might be the best way to understand language. Inside, you’ll discover: ✔ Why a single comma can save Grandma’s life ✔ The world’s funniest translation fails...

Not only do Southerners talk slowly, but sometimes the whole language is hard to understand. No one realizes that more than Memphis belle Leelee Satterfield. Watching her tackle life and love in Vermont was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to antics, charades, mischief, and romance. Now that she’s back in Memphis, and starting a new relationship with Peter, the Yankee chef from her New England inn, you’d think she’d sit back and enjoy her newly crafted life back home in Dixie. But that just wouldn’t be as much fun.

Cecil Younger is a man who takes comfort in the absurdity of the universe, and the universe is obliging him when he gets a call from his lawyer and psychiatrist, who offers him a job. A client wants to hire Younger to kill someone. Though common sense tells him murder just isn't a good career move, his finances tell him it can't hurt to meet his potential client, hoping he can succeed in appeasing him - without a dead body.

From the celebrated twenty-nine-year-old author of the everywhere-heralded short-story collection St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves (“How I wish these were my own words, instead of the breakneck demon writer Karen Russell’s . . . Run for your life. This girl is on fire”—Los...

Hey, y’all. Welcome to the South! Viral sensation and TikToker Landon Bryant (@LandonTalks) presents his tongue-in-cheek “anthropological dive” into the food, fashion, linguistics, culture, holidays, and traditions of the American South. “Let’s discuss . . .” These two words began...

With his trademark humor and flair, bestselling linguist John McWhorter busts the myths and shares the history of the most controversial language topic of our times: pronouns The nature of language is to shift and evolve—but every so often, a new usage creates a whole lot of consternation...

WHY, after almost five million years, did our early ancestors suddenly believe they had to alter their very beings and their way of life to achieve the spoken word…something they’d never heard, had no knowledge of and had no reason to believe they needed?

Communication Skills—Eight manuscripts in one book, including: Body Language: 7 Easy Steps to Master Nonverbal Communication, Reading People, Microexpressions & Improve Your Charisma; Assertiveness: 7 Easy Steps to Master Assertive Social Confidence, Self-Esteem, Self-Awareness & Social Dynamics; Conversation Skills: 7 Easy Steps to Master Listening Skills, Interpersonal Feedback, Difficult Conversations & Voice Training; Make People Laugh: 7 Easy Steps to Master Being Funny, Conversational Humor, Improv Stand-Up Comedy & Joke Writing; and more.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Award-winning actor Alan Alda tells the fascinating story of his quest to learn how to communicate better, and to teach others to do the same. With his trademark humor and candor, he explores how to develop empathy as the key factor. “Invaluable.”—Deborah...

A funny and quirky novel that follows an amnesiac across North America in search of his lost life, armed only with a telephone number that no longer seems to be working correctly.

Edited by the magazine’s poetry editor, Kevin Young, a celebratory selection from one hundred years of influential, entertaining, and taste-making verse in The New Yorker Seamus Heaney, Dorothy Parker, Louise Bogan, Louise Glück, Randall Jarrell, Langston Hughes, Derek Walcott, Sylvia Plath...

What happens when Kafka’s idiosyncratic imagination meets some of the greatest literary minds writing in English across the globe today? Find out in this anthology of brand-new Kafka-inspired short stories by prizewinning, bestselling writers. Franz Kafka is widely regarded as one of the...

Some find talking to others uncomfortable, difficult, or intimidating. Here is a way to overcome these communication challenges. How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere is the key to building confidence and improving communication skills. Written by Larry King, this guide provides simple and...

Dejándose llevar por el corazón, Abigail Apple está decidida a evitar el cierre de su entidad protectora de perros favorita. Seguir las normas del policía Cooper Hill podría ser la clave para ganar su corazón y salvar el refugio. Abigail Apple va con retraso a su cita a ciegas al ser detenida por exceso de velocidad. Por desgracia, al poli «estricto con las normas» no le importa que ella llegue tarde y mucho menos que ella tenga el corazón roto debido a que su protectora de perros favorita corra peligro de ser cerrada. Tras ello, acudirá a su cita con barro seco en sus tacones, ...

🌀 A colorful collection of 1000 fascinating words, idioms, and expressions. 🗯️ Slang from the streets, the screen, and across the decades. 📚 Rare and beautiful words you didn’t know you needed. 🌍 Funny, strange, and untranslatable phrases from other languages. 🐒 Animal-inspired idioms that reveal how we think and speak. 🍩 Deliciously weird food-related sayings and metaphors. 😄 Expressions that make you laugh, raise eyebrows, or both. 💘 Phrases of love, friendship, awkwardness, and sass. 🧠 A perfect tool for writers, teachers, trivia lovers, and language fans. ...