Gobsmacked!

“An Economist Best Book of the Year””[An] engaging romp… . In Gobsmacked!, Yagoda shows readers how to delight in the lexical creativity of this ever-changing language.”—Anne Curzan, Wall Street Journal“The wash of cultural globalization, where everything is available all the time, has made it easier for words to flow into as well as out of the American word hoard… . Gobsmacked! is a collection of the hundred or so wittiest and most interesting entries from [Yagoda’s blog]—kerfuffle, pillock, twee, nonstarter and, of course, gobsmacked.”—Dennis Duncan, Washington Post“It is possible that the British need Gobsmacked! more than their American cousins. The Americanisation of British English is well known; the Britishisation of American English, not so much… . A country not sure what influence it still does—or should—have in the world might like to know that the superpower across the ocean still fancies the mother country and its culture.” * The Economist *“As well as being a pleasure to read, Gobsmacked! made me take a fresh look at the language we share.”—Harry Mount, New Criterion“Part of this book’s delight is that it’s not just about language—it’s about Yagoda’s research, resourcefulness, and diligence… . In Gobsmacked! Yagoda has written a fun, informative exploration of our language.”—Christopher J. Scalia, Washington Free Beacon“The British do make their own coinages, and some of them take up residence in American mouths. Ben Yagoda … has done our nation an invaluable service chronicling the entry of such adoptions; he reports his findings on a blog, Not One-Off Britishisms. He has compiled and expanded upon its greatest hits in an engaging new volume, Gobsmacked!”—Jude Russo, The Lamp

Ben Yagoda has published more than a dozen books, including Will Rogers: A Biography; About Town: “The New Yorker” and the World It Made; When You Catch an Adjective, Kill It: The Parts of Speech, for Better and/or Worse; and The Sound on the Page: Style and Voice in Writing. He is professor emeritus of English at the University of Delaware.