The Grouchy Grammarian: A How-Not-To Guide to the
47 Most Common Mistakes in English Made by Journalists, Broadcasters, and
Others Who Should Know Better,
by Thomas Parrish, is available at all bookstores and from online booksellers including:
Amazon Barnes & Noble Borders Joseph-Beth Booksellers
“A lighthearted but highly effective reminder for anyone looking to
avoid
the pitfalls of the English language.”—Good Book Guide
“What Thomas Parrish has accomplished will cause everyone who loves words to become more aware of same, whether exposed to them in oral or written form…. The Grouchy Grammarian should be placed in the hands of every person interested in words, from beginning students to experienced journalists. Furthermore, every English and journalism classroom needs to have copies of this book alongside the thesauruses and dictionaries.” —Lexington Herald-Leader
“Readable from front to back and smartly indexed for easy reference. Parrish, a longtime editor and nonfiction writer, makes a fun and clever companion along the road to good usage.”—St. Petersburg Times
“Thomas Parrish is no knee-jerk pedant. He is happy to dismiss the old canard that none must always take a singular verb; he is relaxed about the use of like to mean as (though not the intrusive like that generates a meaningless sentence break in so many conversations); he’s very aware that language is not static. His greatest concern is that whatever we write, we should say clearly what we mean to say. This is summed up by his opening section, which urges all writers to “Think!”—not, as the late Thomas J. Watson of IBM meant it, to exercise the little grey cells in the direction of innovation and invention, but just to stop a moment and reflect on what it is one is actually trying to communicate.”—World Wide Words (UK)
“Parrish writes clearly and well and his grumpy (but neither nasty nor condescending) alter ego makes for an amusing read. Presented in a narrative manner that can be read straight through, the book also possesses an excellent index that can be used to check specific points.”—Writers.com Newsletter
“An amusing, sophisticated semi-classic from the United
States.”—Writers' Reference (UK)
Readers Join In:
“Parrish's engaging primer on verbal correctness is a gem.” (Washington, D.C.)
“The Grouchy Grammarian is not a grouchy book. Parrish's fictional curmudgeon limits his irritation to public figures and national media outlets for spreading grammatical errors and "infelicities" throughout the populace.… I wish all people who worry about ‘weak,’ 'watery’ assaults upon English had mediators like Parrish to absorb their ire and deftly convey their championship and knowledge of precise language.” (Washington, D.C.)
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