A compendium of 100 words and phrases smart people use--even if they
only kinda sorta (secretly don't) know what they mean--with pithy
definitions and fascinating etymologies to solidify their meanings.
Your boss makes a joke about Schrodinger's cat--which is something
you've heard of but you're a little vague about what exactly happened
(or didn't happen) with that cat. Or you're reading a New Yorker
article that explains that "Solecism slipped into solipsism into
full-blown narcissistic project." An excellent point . . . if you're
sure what "solecism" means . . . or, for that matter, "solipsism."
Language gurus Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras to the rescue! In the
breezy and entertaining yet informative style of their New York Times
bestseller You're Saying It Wrong, they give you a brief rundown on
words smart people should know--from the worlds of science and the
arts to philosophy, and from broader topics like quantum physics and
ontology to more specific ones like Plato's cave and trompe l'oeil.
They cover the Latin phrases we hear and read (prima facie, sui
generis, and the like) as well as those that have entered our
vocabularies from other languages (bildungsroman, sturm und drang).
These are the words that, if you were asked directly, "What does this
mean?" you might hem and haw and try to change the subject. After
reading this book, you won't have to.
