American English Compendium

The American English Compendium is a fun way to explore the nuances of the English language—learn that a group of lions is called a pride; a group of whales, a pod; and a group of owls, a parliament. Distinguish between a quack and a shyster. Learn that “tabling a motion” in a U.S. court has an opposite meaning from the same term in England. This book picks up where other language dictionaries leave off: it includes common proverbs, a sampling of American English versus British English, popular American expressions and slang, acronyms, and varied information on everything from wildlife to currency. In this new edition, the staples have been updated and fresh chapters have been added, with information on pronunciation, oddball English words, and even some of the new Internet terminology, including Twitterspeak.

A compendium of American proverbs, expressions, slang, colloquialisms; British-US glossary; abbreviations and acronyms and other various odds and ends. Widely used by non-native speakers and translators.

Previously published as: 21st century American English compendium, 3rd ed., 2006.

A compendium of American proverbs, expressions, slang, colloquialisms; British-US glossary; abbreviations and acronyms; and other various odds and ends. Widely used by non-native speakers and translators.

This Compendium helps one better understand how this language works, while providing five compact, quick-reference dictionaries, all in one portable book.

Brings English usage up-to-date and in most instances considers American usage.

Everything the formal dictionaries don't tell about the odds and ends of the greatest language in the world-- American English

Selling more than 58,000 in its first edition, Beginner's Dictionary of American English Usage has been revised and brought right up-to-date to contain today's 4,000 most commonly used words. Definitions are simple and brief, utilizing only words contained within the dictionary's pages. If you want to learn English as spoken by Americans, this dictionary is for you. It's easy to follow and absolutely indispensable. Each entry offers at least one example sentence, identifies parts of speech, and lists multiple meanings.