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Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
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American Heritage Abbreviations DictionaryCurrent and topical, it includes up-to-date coverage of the latest technologies, with entries such as TAS (time addressable storage) and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) as well as all the shortcuts you need to know when sending or reading a text message, such as YKWIM (You know what I mean?), POS (parent over shoulder), and ROTFL (rolling on the floor laughing).
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Dictionary of Contemporary SlangWith more than 7,000 definitions, this book provides a definitive guide to the use of slang today. It deals with drugs, sport and contemporary society, as well as favourite slang topics such as sex and bodily functions.
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Rawson's Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other DoubletalkHugh Rawson explains, in clear language, what it means when we talk of an unusual occurrence, a crew transfer container, or Montezuma's revenge. If you have ever been baffled by the expression culturally deprived, or want to know where the phrase deep-six comes from, then this book will certainly be of service.
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The American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and StyleThis authoritative survey of English usage, grammar, and style offers guidance on almost any writing problem imaginable. Arranged in a single, easy-to-use A-Z list, the guide's entries include examples and quotations that show not only correct and incorrect usage but also the relative effectiveness of different expressions in context.
Books
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A Dictionary of SociolinguisticsThe first comprehensive dictionary of the field of sociolinguistics, this is a valuable reference book for students and teachers of sociolinguistics, others concerned with the socially-oriented study of language and those with a professional interest in language.
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Word Histories and MysteriesProvides a panoramic view of the unique richness of English, uncovering the origins of five hundred everyday words whose surprising and often amusing stories offer insights into the history of humankind.
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Word OriginsThe origins of thousands of words in the English language explored and explained.
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Good Word Guide by Martin H. ManserThis fully updated edition of the bestselling Good Word Guide offers information and advice on spelling, grammar, punctuation, pronunciation, confusables and the latest buzzwords, and provides clear, straightforward answers to everyday language problems.