OK

The Improbable Story of America's Greatest Word

Автор: Allan Metcalf

Език:

Корици: С меки корици

Издател: Oxford University Press Inc

Наличност: Външен склад

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It is said to be the most frequently spoken (or typed) word on the planet, more common than an infan...

Информация за книгата

Автор

Allan Metcalf

Език

Английски език

Корици

Книга - С меки корици

Издадена

2012

страници

240

EAN

9780199892532

ISBN

0199892539

Enbook ID

04481461

Издател

Oxford University Press Inc

Теглоt

206

Размери

125 x 176 x 16

Пълно описание

It is said to be the most frequently spoken (or typed) word on the planet, more common than an infant's first word ma or the ever-present beverage Coke. It was even the first word spoken on the moon. It is "OK"-the most ubiquitous and invisible of American expressions, one used countless times every day. Yet few of us know the hidden history of OK-how it was coined, what it stood for, and the amazing extent of its influence. Allan Metcalf, a renowned popular writer on language, here traces the evolution of America's most popular word, writing with brevity and wit, and ranging across American history with colorful portraits of the nooks and crannies in which OK survived and prospered. He describes how OK was born as a lame joke in a newspaper article in 1839-used as a supposedly humorous abbreviation for "oll korrect" (ie, "all correct")-but should have died a quick death, as most clever coinages do. But OK was swept along in a nineteenth-century fad for abbreviations, was appropriated by a presidential campaign (one of the candidates being called "Old Kinderhook"), and finally was picked up by operators of the telegraph. Over the next century and a half, it established a firm toehold in the American lexicon, and eventually became embedded in pop culture, from the "I'm OK, You're OK" of 1970's transactional analysis, to Ned Flanders' absurd "Okeley Dokeley!" Indeed, OK became emblematic of a uniquely American attitude, and is one of our most successful global exports. "An appealing and informative history of OK." -Washington Post Book World "After reading Metcalf's book, it's easy to accept his claim that OK is 'America's greatest word.'" -Erin McKean, Boston Globe "Entertaininga treat for logophiles." -Kirkus Reviews "Metcalf makes you acutely aware of how ubiquitous and vital the word has become." -Jeremy McCarter, Newsweek

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The Improbable Story of America's Greatest Word

Информация за книгата

Пълно описание

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Клиенти, които купиха тази книга, купиха също