100 Words To Make You Sound Smart
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Book Summary Information
Editor: Editors of the American Heritage DictionariesEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-10-04
ISBN: 061871488X
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Book Reviews of 100 Words To Make You Sound Smart
Book Review: Pedantic anachronism
Summary: 5 Stars
I am often asked by parents to recommend a quick fix when they feel that their kids are slacking in English. I recommend this compendium because of its catchy title: if the kids get intimidated, they will not develop a neurosis. The caveat I give parents is that this is just one of the many compendiums they should acquire. This one merely gets kids started. Start from the top, as the title implies, and work your way downwards. These are the appropriate words of encouragement for the vocabulary-challenged kid. Hopefully, they will move on to more useful 1000 word or 3000 word compendiums, or to the many books written for SAT and GMAT.
I often regret the advice I gave. We all know the best way to improve vocabulary is to read more, which is not practical with the workload of students today. The best practical way is to study the set English Literature text intensely, thus scoring marks for Literature concurrently. For some paranormal reason, small books like "100 words" have a way of bouncing onto the table, while staid books remain on the shelves. This book is like a steroid which keeps calling attention to itself.
If this book shows where the horizon is, it merits 5 stars. As a vocabulary steroid, it cannot build mass quickly. For a book published in 2006, it is a pedantic anachronism. Any critical person can find at least 10 terms which should not be there, and that is a massive 10% of 100 words. Even if you knew how to use the words, your target audience might not appreciate them. I would feel embarrassed to use terms like "ennui", "Svengali" or "brogue". If I were in a University in Britain or America, I believe people would give me a mocking look which says "are you stupid or something, can you not use a simpler word?"
Why would I want to inflict words like "cloying","finagle", "dilettante" or "boondogle" when more colourful expressions for the same are readily available. Our vocabulary-challenged kid, who cannot use many of these terms on a regular basis, is going to forget them easily. "Indelicate" is self-explanatory and its usage will fail to make the user sound smart. Words like "angst", "maudlin", "gregarious", "equivocate", "sycophant", "philistine" and "peevish" are slowly working themselves out of common usage. You would hardly expect to find them in syndicated articles from the New York Times, Washington Post, Economist, Newsweek, LAT, CSM and other mainstream media. I would be surprised if more than 75 of the words surfaced this year in the Huffington Post or the Guardian, or on popular TV series or movies.
If the Editors would replace about 25 distracting words, this book contains some delightful confirmations of words which should be used more often. "Infinitesimal","Quintessential", "Minimalist", "Machiavellian", are staples often used by other people who want to sound smart; I need to stay abreast of them. "Untenable" is useful when you want to say your boss has a dumb idea. It is good know the cliched terms like "dichotomy", and also "Dishevelled" as news reports use Dishevelled readily on celebrities. "Esoteric" is useful, but missing is "Eclectic" which is bandied about quite often in talent programmes such as "American Idol" and "America's Got Talent". And if you really need to be told about "antidote" and "waft", your vocabulary is in serious trouble.
"Non sequitur" gained prominence from a comic strip. I have no quarrel with "idyllic", "panacea", "nouveau riche", "paradox", "perfunctory" or even "cacophony", finding these familiar words in new contexts. Two illustrations of usage of your 100 top words is manifestly insufficient. Improper attempts at using these 100 words without understanding their fullest implications will clearly lead to language "faux pas" (the pronounciation of the plural is thankfully included). That assuredly will make the misuser sound stupid.
I suppose everybody has an individualised opinion of their 100 most impressive words. These 100 words look like they came off a computer analysis, rather than from the gut feeling of Editors on top of linguistic paradigms (speaking of which, "paradigm" was not included).
As a personal observation, I note that kids who attend Church regularly pick up quite an ample vocabulary from Pastors. When I meet the parents again, and they tell me they have bought a compendium of vocabulary expanding words, I sense linguistic redemption. Even half of 100 words is a good start. If they brought the book with them, I tell them which was the better half - there is an index of the 100 words in bold on the last page.
Summary of 100 Words To Make You Sound Smart
The newest title in the popular 100 Words series is an informative and entertaining resource that can help anyone be right on the money when looking for words that will make a point, seal the deal, or just keep folks listening. Chosen by the editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries, these words will appeal to anyone who wants to be a more compelling communicator—as a worker, consumer, advocate, friend, dinner companion, or even as a romantic prospect.
The book includes a colorful variety of words, including handy words of just one syllable (such as glib) and words derived from the names of famous people (such as Freudian slip and Machiavellian).
There are expressions from popular culture (Catch-22) and words that date back to classical civilization (spartan and stoic). Each word is clearly defined and shown in context with quotations from contemporary sources: magazines, newspapers, broadcast media, movies, and television. For many words, quotations from distinguished authors and speakers are also given and word histories are explained.
Like its predecessors in this successful series, 100 Words to Make You Sound Smart provides an affordable and enjoyable way to communicate more effectively. It offers the coveted gift of gab to anyone who needs to “say it right?—and to anyone who wants to sound more articulate.
The book includes a colorful variety of words, including handy words of just one syllable (such as glib) and words derived from the names of famous people (such as Freudian slip and Machiavellian).
There are expressions from popular culture (Catch-22) and words that date back to classical civilization (spartan and stoic). Each word is clearly defined and shown in context with quotations from contemporary sources: magazines, newspapers, broadcast media, movies, and television. For many words, quotations from distinguished authors and speakers are also given and word histories are explained.
Like its predecessors in this successful series, 100 Words to Make You Sound Smart provides an affordable and enjoyable way to communicate more effectively. It offers the coveted gift of gab to anyone who needs to “say it right?—and to anyone who wants to sound more articulate.
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