***** 5 stars Nancy H. Dickson (Garrett Park, Maryland) This book–I Love It When You Talk Retro: Hoochie Coochie, Double Whammy, Drop a Dime, and the Forgotten Origins of American Speech–is an absolute hoot for anyone with a fascination for the American Language and/or Popular Culture. For many of us it evokes a rich pre-Internet, …
Euphemism of the Week
To explain his conviction that global warming is natural, incoming House Speaker John Boehner said “Every cow in the world, you know, when they do what they do you’ve got more carbon dioxide.”
Amazon Customer Review: Not just for Wordies
***** 5 stars P. Offen (San Diego) When our daughter-in-law’s parents turned 60 last December, my husband and I sent them a box of memorabilia from our common youth containing a “Don’t Trust Anyone over 30” button, a “Make Love Not War” mug (with peace symbol), a “Groovy Chick” T-shirt, the Sunset Book of Macrame …
Amazon Customer Review: An E Ticket Ride!
***** 5 stars Gilah Pomeranz (Yellow Springs, OH) Ralph Keyes has a way of defying classification with his books that are a conglomeration of education, inspiration, and entertainment. In I Love It When You Talk Retro, Keyes is at his best, providing a fresh perspective on old jargon. Whether you’re a language lover, a movie …
Amazon Customer Review: More on words from a writer's writer
**** 4 stars Virgil Hervey (Ohio) Ralph Keyes is more than a writer; he has fashioned himself into an expert on the origins of expressions used in everyday American speech. I Love It When You Talk Retro is a resource work, complete with notes, bibliography and an index, that can be breezed through with the …
From Jewels to Junk
The most discussed euphemism of recent times is junk (as in “Don’t touch my junk,” during an airport patdown). How we got from “family jewels” to “junk” escapes me. Today’s junk is yesterday’s stones, marbles, peppercorns and manhood. The euphemisms we use with reflect their times. What does “junk” say about ours?