That Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means
The 150 Most Commonly Misused Words and Their Tangled Histories
Failed to add items
Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.
Add to basket failed.
Please try again later
Add to wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Remove from wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Adding to library failed
Please try again
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 Months Free
£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Offer ends on 15 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
That Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means
Narrated by:
Ross Petras, Kathryn Petras
Buy Now for £9.58
-
Narrated by:
-
Ross Petras
-
Kathryn Petras
Even the most erudite among us use words like apocryphal, facetious, ironic, meteorite, moot, redundant, and unique incorrectly every day. Don’t be one of them. Using examples of misuse from leading newspapers, prominent public figures and famous writers, among others, language gurus Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras explain how to avoid these perilous pitfalls in the English language. Each entry also includes short histories of how and why these mistake have happened, some of the (often surprisingly nasty) debates about which uses are (and are not) mistakes, and finally, how to use these words correctly … or why to not use them at all. By the end of this book, every literati will be able to confidently, casually, and correctly toss in an “a priori” or a “limns” without hesitation.
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
Critic reviews
Praise for You're Saying It Wrong:
"[Contains] instructions ostensibly designed to make pronunciation a forte. (It's pronounced "fort," by the way.) And designed, too, to spare you the particular strain of embarrassment that results when you learn that you have been pretentiously mispronouncing the name of your already-pretentious sparkling water. You're Saying It Wrong acknowledges that most modern of problems: the fact that so many of us learn words not by hearing them, but by reading them."
--the Atlantic
"The best way to consume this book is in a room full of people who are from different parts of the country and have good senses of humor. Ask them how they pronounce each word that doesn't seem obvious. Let the frustration and laughter and discussion ensue."--The Awl
"[Contains] instructions ostensibly designed to make pronunciation a forte. (It's pronounced "fort," by the way.) And designed, too, to spare you the particular strain of embarrassment that results when you learn that you have been pretentiously mispronouncing the name of your already-pretentious sparkling water. You're Saying It Wrong acknowledges that most modern of problems: the fact that so many of us learn words not by hearing them, but by reading them."
--the Atlantic
"The best way to consume this book is in a room full of people who are from different parts of the country and have good senses of humor. Ask them how they pronounce each word that doesn't seem obvious. Let the frustration and laughter and discussion ensue."--The Awl
No reviews yet