Overview

From baby boomers with 'groovy' and 'yuppie' to Generation X with 'whatever' and 'like,' each generation inevitably generates original words that come out of its social and historical context. Those words not only tell us a great deal about the people in those generations, but also highlight the differences between them and other generations.In this book, Allan Metcalf, author of OK, uses a special framework of defining American generations to show that each generation of those born within a particular 20-year time period can be identified and characterized by words it chooses to use. By sampling from as far back as the American Revolution, Metcalf carefully constructs a comprehensive account of the history and usage of words associated with each generation in the American language. With special attention to the differences in vocabulary among the generations currently living-the sometimes awkward Millennials, the grunge music of Generation X, hippies among the Boomers, and bobbysoxers among the Silents - From Skeddadle to Selfie compiles dozens of words we have come to recognize or use and tells the unheard stories of each in its role of accompanying its generation through the times.Key Features:A lively look at the words that have come to define different generations in historyThe first book to offer an explanation for the spread of the f-word by the Boomer generationTells the stories of dozens of words that identify and characterize the generations—skedaddle, dude, sexy, rock and roll, streaking, friends with benefits, and many more

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9780199927128

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Reviews

fun-sized contribution to the pop-etymology shelves Sam Leith, The Guardian sprightly history of American slang Sam Kitchener, The Sunday Telegraph an enjoyable, interesting ... read for the armchair etymologist. Copyediting what makes this book stand out is the sociology included in the look at these words. BookBag

what makes this book stand out is the sociology included in the look at these words. * BookBag * an enjoyable, interesting ... read for the armchair etymologist. * Copyediting * sprightly history of American slang * Sam Kitchener, The Sunday Telegraph * fun-sized contribution to the pop-etymology shelves * Sam Leith, The Guardian *

fun-sized contribution to the pop-etymology shelves Sam Leith, The Guardian an enjoyable, interesting ... read for the armchair etymologist. Copyediting what makes this book stand out is the sociology included in the look at these words. BookBag

what makes this book stand out is the sociology included in the look at these words. BookBag

Author Information

Allan Metcalf is author of six previous books on language, most recently OK: The Improbable Story of America's Greatest Word (Oxford University Press, 2010). He posts weekly to the Lingua Franca blog of the Chronicle of Higher Education, and, as executive secretary of the American Dialect Society, invented that group's annual vote on Word of the Year. He is Professor of English at MacMurray College and consultant to attorneys on matters of language and law.

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