Product Description

Can anything be described as 'very real'? There are so many obstacles on the way to writing clear, precise ('accurate'?) English ('english'?) that it is a wonder ('wander'?) anyone ('any one' or 'anyone'?) can be understood. Fortunately, all those who have ever feared being shown up by using one of the twenty worst words and phrases to be avoided at all costs, or confusing the complex with the complicated, can now relax and even enjoy a trouble-shooting guide to good writing. Trask's wonderfully readable and authoritative book adjudicates on hundreds of contentious issues from politically correct language to whether to write 'napkin' or 'serviette'.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #69515 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

The Guardian, August 10th, 2002
'Intelligent, reliable and lively ... this book is great'

The Guardian, August 10th, 2002
'The book produces satisfied murmurs of content and cries of ''Tell it like it is, baby'' '

The Guardian, August 10th, 2002
'It is good to see there is someone out there hunting down...serial abusers of English'

Customer Reviews

Well said, sir!
This is an excellent guide to English usage, common errors and much else.

Trask can spot pretentious nonsense at forty paces and, thankfully, doesn't sit on the fence. The result is an authoritative book that sometimes made me laugh out loud as the author exposes and debunks some of the myths and nonsense that are still regularly encountered.

I share his dislike of the incomprehensible affected twaddle that so many academics and managers inflict on us.

I've since read a number of R.L. Trask's books and they're all outstanding. 'Language: The Basics' is brilliant and his guide to punctuation is quite simply the clearest and best available. Mr Trask is a truly talented writer and communicator. I wish more academics could write and explain ideas like him.

Those starting out on trying to improve their English might just occasionally find it a bit deep. I'd say 'Troublesome Words' by Bill Bryson is an excellent companion, but I'd definitely want this book to go with it. Reading two different, and well written, explanations is often a great help when dealing with an unfamiliar topic.

It's not funny and it's not clever
I bought this book because of its witty punning title and Penguin's reputation for publishing excellent titles like the "Penguin Writer's Manual". But while the title may be witty, the content is not. "Mind the Gaffe" is an A-Z of words and phrases that the author wants to sound off about or thinks that you, dear reader, might get wrong. It starts with 'a, an', 'abattoir', 'abbreviations', and lumbers its pedantic way along to 'yours', 'yo-yo', '-yse, -yze', missing out 'yawn' along the way. Much of the book is taken up with dull entries like: "Accommodation: The word is so spelled with two Cs and two Ms. Do not write acommodation or accomodation."

The writing is turgid and opinionated. All the more surprising as this is supposed to be a book about writing. For one example from many, try this 56-word sentence from the entry on 'situated knowledges': "Anybody who believes that knowing that the moon is a huge rocky body orbiting the earth is just as 'situated', and hence just as valid, as 'knowing' that the moon is a glowing pumpkin hovering just above the treetops has a serious problem with reality, and should probably not operate machinery until this condition wears off." No, it's not funny, and it's not clever.

While it is not a good read, it is not a good reference book either. 'Inveterate' is a popular word for getting wrong, but is one of many omissions from the book. Many of the entries are vague and generalised, like the one for 'foreign names' that encourages the user to "consult a good reference book" (not this one, then).

For a witty book about the English language, buy Lynne Truss's "Eats, Shoots and Leaves". If in need of a good dictionary, the Collins English Dictionary is excellent. For checking spelling, any word processor will do.

This is the book you are looking for
This is an excellent book. Writing forms a large part of my work and I refer to this book almost every day. I encourage others to do the same.

Anyone who yearns for plain English and despairs at pompous, officious writing will find the book a joy to read. The subtitle of this book `Common Errors in English' is a very accurate description of the contents. These errors are very common; so common are they that many came as a complete surprise to me. And I thought I knew my stuff.

Written in a wry style, this book should be on the desk of anyone who writes regularly. The page on split infinitives is worth the admission price, because never again will you worry about such nonsense.