Colleagues

A fun, fact-packed and eminently browsable guide, which cuts the mustard, hangs a few myths out to dry, and should play in Peoria.

Henry Hitchings, author of The Secret Life of Words

Everyone needs this book. Younger people need it to decipher the allusions and metaphors of their elders and older people need it to remind them of the days when today’s retro was cutting edge. Ralph Keyes has outdone himself with this intensely useful and highly entertaining work. I Love It When You Talk Retro is an absolute gem.

Paul Dickson, author of The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, Family Words, and War Slang

We love I Love It When You Talk Retro. How modern language came to be, and how it trickles into our daily speech is a fascinating subject. Ralph Keyes has done a fine job.

Jane and Michael Stern, authors of The Encyclopedia of Bad Taste, The Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, and Roadfood

At last, a genuine study of the sort of history you will actually want to know about. This book reveals the root of a large part of our culture and the way modern language has developed.

Albert Jack, author of Red Herrings and White Elephants and Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep

I did love reading (and thumbing through) it! This book just had to be written ...

Sol Steinmetz, author of Semantic Antics

A serious contribution to popular culture and word history--and a very well-written one at that.

Rosalie Maggio, author of How to Say It