Grammar Geek

OVERVIEW

Language lovers, rejoice! These wonderful little books revel in the beauty, nuance, and eccentricity of the English language. Word Nerd offers a delightful smorgasbord of etymological facts and fancies, including ten phrases “invented” by William Shakespeare; words for things you didn’t know there were words for (the “lunula” is “the crescent-shaped, whitish area at the base of your fingernail”); and the choice cocktail-party conversation starter that, before it was a tragic nursery rhyme figure, “Humpty Dumpty” was a drink made of ale and brandy. If the nuts and bolts of punctuation and split infinitives make your heart go pitter-patter, you’ll love Grammar Geek, a fascinating foray into the tricky rules of English grammar that includes “ten reasons to use an apostrophe,” an explanation of the distinction between “e.g.” and “i.e.,” and a definition of the conversational convention “whimperative.” Dive in!