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Anguished English: An Anthology of Accidental Assaults upon Our Language Mass Market Paperback – August 5, 1989

by Richard Lederer (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 502 ratings
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“Richard Lederer is the true king of language comedy. Anguished English is the funniest book I have ever read.”—Sidney Sheldon

Anguished English is the impossibly funny anthology of accidental assaults upon our language. From bloopers and blunders to Signs of the Times to Mixed Up Metaphors . . . from Two-Headed Headlines to Mangling Modifiers, here is an outrageous treasury of assaults upon our common language that will leave you roaring with delight and laughter.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    192 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Dell
  4. Publication date
    August 5, 1989
  5. Dimensions
    4.22 x 0.43 x 6.79 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    044020352X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0440203520
  8. See all details
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More Anguished English: an Expose of Embarrassing Excruciating, and Egregious Errors in English (Intrepid Linguist Library)
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The Revenge of Anguished English: Super Duper Bloopers, Botches, And Blunders
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Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Anguished English is the impossibly funny anthology of accidental assaults upon our language. From bloopers and blunders to Signs of the Times to Mixed Up Metaphors...from Two-Headed Headlines to Mangling Modifiers, here is an outrageous treasury of assaults upon our common language that will leave you roaring with delight and laughter.

From the Inside Flap

Anguished English is the impossibly funny anthology of accidental assaults upon our language. From bloopers and blunders to Signs of the Times to Mixed Up Metaphors...from Two-Headed Headlines to Mangling Modifiers, here is an outrageous treasury of assaults upon our common language that will leave you roaring with delight and laughter.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dell; Reprint edition (August 5, 1989)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 044020352X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0440203520
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.53 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.22 x 0.43 x 6.79 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 502 ratings

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  1. Richard Lederer

    Richard Lederer

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    Richard Lederer is a fly-by-the-roof-of-the-mouth verbivore, logolept, and wordaholic, perhaps the most wordstruck, word bethumped wordaholic you may ever encounter.

    Dr. Lederer is the author of more than 40 books about language, history, and humor, including his best-selling ANGUISHED ENGLISH series and his current books, AMERICAN TRIVIA, AMAZING WORDS, HILARIOUS HOLIDAY HUMOR, and THE BIG BOOK OF WORDPLAY CROSSWORDS. His works range from bloopers and puns to word origins and word games to pets and American history.

    With Charles Harrington Elster, Richard Lederer is founding co-host of "A Way With Words" on National Public Radio. His language columns appear in newspapers and magazines throughout the United States, including the San Diego UNION-TRIBUNE.

    Richard Lederer has been named International Punster of the Year and Toastmasters International's Golden Gavel winner.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Richard R. Lederer

    Richard R. Lederer

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    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
502 global ratings
A Dose of Laughter a Day
5 Stars
A Dose of Laughter a Day
Anguished English (2006) by Richard Lederer is An Anthology of Accidental Assaults upon the English Language, illustrated by Bill Thompson. The anthologist is a devout hunter and gatherer of word botching. The book is his bountiful harvest of gibberish and gaffes. All certified and genuine according to him. So if you feel like a good laugh now and then, this book is for you. Guaranteed to make your day. Just listen. A virgin forest is a place where the hand of man has never set foot. Arabs wear turbines on their heads. Artificial insemination is when the farmer does it to the cow and not the bull. Chris will not be in school cus he has an acre in his side. A pedestrian hit me and went under my car. A song fest was hell at the Methodist church Wednesday. For Rent: 6-room hated apartment. For sale: Eight puppies from a German Shepherd and an Alaskan Hussy. I kid you not.
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Top reviews from the United States

Cece Not-So-Usual
5.0 out of 5 stars Pure, Unadulterated, Laughable Fun
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2009
Verified Purchase
I first picked up a copy of Anguished English at a used book store 6 or 7 years ago. I was in a particularly foul mood that day. I went home and sat down to start perusing the book. In less than 30 seconds, I was laughing. I read the whole book in an hour or so, laughing myself to tears and stomach pains many times. For years I carried the book in my car, and my friends and I would read portions to each other as we drove around town. The reader would be laughing so hard that they would pass the book to the backseat for someone else to read for awhile. We used it and abused it so much that the binding fell apart and the pages started to fall out.

I moved away from all my friends a couple years ago. One friend came up to visit me and begged to borrow my Anguished English for awhile. I finally gave in. I forgot I gave it to her after awhile. A couple months ago I noticed it was missing. I was telling my friend that it was missing. She said "Don't you remember, you let me borrow it? I can send it back to you if you want it back." The next day I looked on Amazon and was so pleased to find an almost new copy. I told my friend she could keep our old, loved, broken copy.

So now there are at least two happy, laughing people in this world because of Anguished English. You should join us! You won't regret it!
9 people found this helpful
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Lit Fan
5.0 out of 5 stars Side-splitting, true bloopers in print
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2024
Verified Purchase
Anyone who loves language (and it's foibles) will delight in the pages of this book. It is chock full of misspellings, grammar errors, and wrong word usage that are unintentionally hilarious. The author says he is not making fun at the expense of the writers, but of the human tendencies we all have to print things before proper proofing.
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Charlene Reynolds
4.0 out of 5 stars I DARE YOU NOT TO LAUGH
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2022
Verified Purchase
There are some side splitting goodies in this book & others you have to read twice to really get the joke, but either way, it's definitely worth the read... Thanks, I needed a good laugh!
5 people found this helpful
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Karl Anderson
5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious
Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2024
Verified Purchase
It's a play on words and the grammar mistakes in the English language
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Wendy V
3.0 out of 5 stars Light reading on spelling, grammar,and logical failures
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2024
Verified Purchase
Pleasant enough for a five minute reading break, but not engaging enough to read from cover to cover in one sitting. Chuckles, but not rolling on the floor laughs. I tip my hat to professor Lederer for making a career as an author from other people’s unclear writing
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Kristy M.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2023
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Great bill
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CC
5.0 out of 5 stars When anguish is fun . . .
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2023
Verified Purchase
Filled with actual examples of anguished English from students to journalists and beyond, the book is delightful and often hilarious.
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sharon f. leff
4.0 out of 5 stars Classics!
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2023
Verified Purchase
Funny, so, enjoyable for rich layers of language loops so prevalent at different stages and ages between those native to a language and those just exploring. Captured moments, lines, and phrases that mostly unintentionally have become shared, retold, and remembered. And many of these ave become a part of an America’s cultural history and lexico
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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G. van G
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Read
Reviewed in Canada on September 2, 2021
Verified Purchase
I liked the book.

It reminded me a bit of my time as a school teacher and the things I used to see.
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Radha
5.0 out of 5 stars Anguished English
Reviewed in India on September 30, 2018
Verified Purchase
I read the first book also and enjoyed both. A must read.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh-out-loud funny
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 5, 2017
Verified Purchase
A hoot! I'm not sure that all the snippets are genuine student howlers but I'd like to believe they are. Laugh-out-loud funny and great therapy if you're feeling glum.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh out loud
Reviewed in Australia on March 8, 2022
Verified Purchase
Amusing read, even for a Strine (Australian) like me. 😊
Will entertain wordsmiths, or anyone who enjoys the eccentricities of our language.
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ながちゃん
5.0 out of 5 stars Immersion into Modern Day Malapropisms
Reviewed in Japan on June 24, 2019
Verified Purchase
Fractured English や Crazy English でも有名な Richard Lederler の作品。本書は １. Schoolishness、Ⅱ. The Blunderful World of Bloopers、Ⅲ. Inspired Gibberish、Ⅳ. Grammar Gaffes の 4 章から成り、生徒・学生の言い間違いや書き誤りから、大人によるうっかりミス、意図的な誤謬までを、様々な実例を挙げながら、面白おかしくあげつらっている本である。

例えば Arabs wear turbines. (turbans の誤り) などは、成程そんな間違いならば起こしかねないなと思えるが、Having one wife is monotony. (monogamy) とか The problem with intersexual swimming is that the boys often outstrip the girls. (両義を持つ outstrip) となると、つい「うまいっ！」と膝を叩きたくなるような「意図」を感じる。タイトルに Laffing at Mispellings などというものもあり、気を抜けない。時にネイティブの友人の助けを借りなければ意味がはっきりとしないものがあるのは、自らの英語力の無さを嘆くしかないのだが、英語の Modern Day Malapropisms にじっくりと浸ってみるのも佳いものだ。

本書には、本書刊行の５年後に出版された More Anguished English という続編がある。両書ともにお薦めだ。
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