Yes, I Could Care Less: How to Be a Language Snob Without Being a Jerk

by Bill Walsh

A usage guide for writers and all lovers of language from Bill Walsh, language maven, copy editor at The Washington Post, and author of Lapsing into a Comma.

Calling all language sticklers—and those who love to argue with them! Usage maven Bill Walsh expounds (rather than expands) on his pet peeves in the long-awaited follow-up (note the hyphens, please) to The Elephants of Style and Lapsing Into a Comma.

Could you care less? Does bad grammar “literally” make your head explode? Test your need for this book with these sentences:

"Katrina misplaced many residents of New Orleans from their homes."

"Mark had a full schedule of meetings. His first of the day was a small businessman, followed by a high schoolteacher."

"Betty was 100% percent wrong."

Pat yourself on the back if you found issues in every one of these sentences, but remember: There is a world out there beyond the stylebooks, beyond Strunk and White, beyond Lynne Truss and Failblogs. Part usage manual, part confessional and part manifesto, Yes, I Could Care Less bounces from sadomasochism to weather geekery, Top Chef to Monty Python. It is a lively and often personal look at one man’s continuing journey through the obstacle course that some refer to, far too simply, as “grammar.”

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing, Language, Humor, Reference, Linguistics, Self Help

304 pages, Paperback

First published June 18, 2013

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Bill Walsh was born in Pottsville, Pa., and grew up in Madison Heights, Mich., and Mesa, Ariz. He is a 1984 journalism graduate of the University of Arizona and has worked as a reporter and editor at the Phoenix Gazette and an editor at the Washington Times and the Washington Post. He is now a multiplatform editor at the Post.

Reviews

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is ideal for language geeks, a group in which I proudly claim membership.

There are certain sections that I marked specifically because of their hilarious relevance. One is on business-speak, which drives me insane, and other "professional" jargon. The last sentence of this section reads, "I'm not even sure the business types know what they actually mean when the talk about utilizing paradigm-shifting technologies to task personnel to grow the company."

Another chapter is "Tiny Acts of Elegance", which features as a first subsection, "Editing like a Ninja". It is something I think about every day at work, as I edit sentences to have them make sense. This is sometimes harder than you'd think, but this chapter helped me to simply restructure sentences so that they make some sense.

My other favorite chapter, "The S Files" (about "S" being the hardest-working letter in the alphabet), begins with references to a local-to-me newspaper, the Frederick News-Post, where the author's brother is an editor. It seems that someone wrote to complain about a local brewery's use of "offensive" names for its beers (that would be Flying Dog, whose "Doggy Style" and "Raging Bitch" was apparently too much for someone). Someone commented, "Gee, can't you just ask for Millers?" And someone replied, "I don't like Millers, but sometimes get Bids, Coor, Michelobs, Heinekens, Sam Adam, Foster, Buschs, Pabsts, Killian, Rolling Rocks, Natty Bos, Yuengings, and Molsons."

As through most of this book, I laughed myself silly over this. So, if you don't find this passage funny, this book probably isn't for you. But I would like to thank Bill Walsh for this book, and will be seeking out his previous books, Lapsing into a Comma and The Elephants of Style. Yes, these are actual titles.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

[I'm concerned that if this author reads this he will find something wrong with my writing but maybe he would be kind enough to not say too much about it. Here's to hoping that he is too busy to read book reviews.]

This book was hilarious. It got off to a scary start. Some of the topics at the beginning I found myself disagreeing with but I stuck it out. It was worth it. This author has A+ sarcasm and I learned things from this book too! I find myself suddenly into words and language and grammar (and generally sounding smarter) so this book fit into that perfectly. I'm well aware that most of what I learned won't stick in my brain but I also am certain that a lot of it will. I think that it was a fantastic idea to read this right before going back to school but it was also just funny. Did I mention that already? I thought that a book like this would be plain old boring but it wasn't. The examples were memorable and I laughed out loud at his comments. I found the tweets at the top of the page (from the author's twitter) to be just as entertaining as the content of the novel.

I would recommend this book to language snobs and language jerks and those of us who just like words and language but lack the jerk side of it. English majors, this one is for you too! I think that anyone interested in language could get something out of this book. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Could you care less? Personally, I couldn't.

Find more reviews like this one at http://one-chapter-ahead.blogspot.com

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any of Bill Walsh's books, for anyone for whom being a word and editing nerd is not a pleasure in itself, provide readers with hilarious and insightful lessons in correct usage of English. I can't say that this book or his others have stopped me from being a jerk, but they've allowed me to say things like "Oh yeah? Well, Bill Walsh, former copy editor at The Washington Post, says it's "ICED tea and WHIPPED cream, not ICE tea and WHIP cream."

The introduction is delightful , and there are entries for every gaffe in the misuse-niverse of language. How Mr. Walsh came up with so much new material after he wrote his two previous books, "Lapsing into a Comma" and "The Elephants of Style" is a mystery to anyone who hadn't had the joy of being in his brilliant company.

Bill, tragically, died of cancer a few years ago. I still wear the T-shirt that I got from his website with that catch phrase from his last book, and I joyfully point out to anyone questioning my capacity for empathy that it's a book, a wonderful book, and that the actual phrase (unless you're emphasizing the word "could" is "I couldn't care less." I may be a jerk, but I did teach someone something.

I'm very sad that there won't be any more of Bill's wisdom.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The start of the book is a little different from Bill's past books and deals more with the philosophy of editing and dealing with all the gray areas and ambiguity of language and grammar rules, which provides a nice insight into the brain of a true editing expert. And it gets at the idea in the title, which more people should probably abide by. The rest of the book is similar to his past ones, talking about certain problematic words or phrases, with a good dose of humor paired with the education.

[Brad Grabow · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. The author makes good points and raises several uncommon language errors of which I was unaware (and perhaps guilty), but his attempts at humor (and incessant parenthetical interruptions) were far from effortless (even to the point of distraction, I might say). (But I digress.) (Again) The book could easily be distilled to half its length, as well, as Walsh frequently strives to overcome every known or conceivable counter-argument, no matter how banal or unworthy of refutation.
The title caught my attention--and got me nodding in enthusiastic agreement--but the book as a whole collapses under the weight of its own overworked arguments. Too bad, because notwithstanding my dissatisfaction with this read, I agree with 90% of the points it raises.

[Megan Stolz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting into this one. In my work, I come across a lot of grammar snobs, although I'm more of a descriptivist myself, so I was looking forward to maybe some validation in this book, or at the very least, some amusement. But despite the subtitle, there's a definite snobby undertone, at least in the first few chapters, which is as far as I got. The history behind how certain grammatical pet peeves came to be is mildly interesting, but it basically comes across as an explanation for why it's okay to be snobby about specific pet peeves because they're wrong after all (and here's the historical proof). I think this one will have to remain unfinished.

[Washington Post · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Yes, I Could Care Less is like bellying up to your favorite neighborhood bar while a cranky yet lovable uncle holds forth on the perils of comma splices and misplaced hyphens. Walsh is combative and funny, and he doesn’t suffer fools gladly (“Humans are often idiots,” he explains helpfully at one point).Read the rest: http://wapo.st/11GsWRC

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

mostly clear & judicious, but come on: "waterbed" is one word.

[Carol Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Language snobs unite.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could easily have been very put off by this book. Bill Walsh calls me a snob 11 pages in, when he discusses (American) pronunciations/spellings starting with "accoutrements" rather than the stupid Webster's Dictionary way, which could only be verbalized as "a-cooter-mint" (try that, please, and report back on the looks you get.) While we agree there, he tells me I'm a snob b/c I live in the AHN-velope over EN-velope camp and also I say neesh rather than nitch (niche) and fort-ay rather than fort (forté/forte). I'm going to blame the years of language lessons and my love of watching films with subtitles rather than admit I'm a snob. I honestly have never known which of these is right (also, dad is not originally American, so maybe his fault?) I deleted my US keyboard from Windows (it's a pain if you write in other languages. The international one is just easier.)

However, he made me laugh, so I continued, vowing only that if he demanded I start saying pie-el-la instead of paella like it is actually pronounced, I would stop reading. Luckily, that didn't come up. (But seriously, someone should write one of these books just on food and the right ways to verbalize in various countries. I'm a bit tired of people from the UK thinking we're pretentious just b/c most Americans use country-of-origin pronunciations. We live in a melting pot, doncha know?)

These books are fun, and I'm glad my library has a whole row of them because I used to waste my own money on them, and I think these are a great use of my tax dollars, though I can't tell you why.

[BookBec · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best chapters are those in which Walsh riffs on a single subject and digs into its nuances.
Not so fun are the chapters full of short paragraphs on individual words (unless you have 30-second intervals in which to read).
The book also suffers from off-topic mid-chapter sidebars about misremembered movie quotes, names of government offices, and Walsh's disagreements with dictionaries. The Twitter quotes in the right-hand-page headers are distracting too. Let's just stick to one subject at a time, shall we?
And why do we need to hear so much about Walsh's fondness for porn?

However, I laughed a lot, and Walsh prompted me to think about my reasoning as I agreed or disagreed with his pronouncements. But if this book were less of a mishmash of editorial mini-essays with style-guide-like word lists, it would be a better reading experience.

[Lee Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

"To make a concerted effort is to make an effort in concert with others. It's not hard to understand why people hear the way 'a concerted effort' is used and assume it means to try really, really hard, but there are plenty of other words for that."

There. Maybe you just learned that, too.

I met the late Bill Walsh at a signing when this book came out, and although he didn't share my white-hot rage at "third wheel" supplanting "fifth wheel" in the common usage, he did politely (if bemusedly) listen to me go off about it. This book is a mildly snarky look at the way words are, should be, and ought not to be. It was a quick, fun read, and I learned a few things. Hyphens! Who knew?

[Debbie Walsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am currently in the middle of a writing project and decided to read a few grammar/writing books, and this is the first one. The author is an editor and definitely knows the exact meaning of words -- there were several words that I thought meant the same but actually have slightly different definitions. There were also some grammar rules that I did not realize or remember ever learning. For those reasons, I am glad I took the time to read this book. However, I thought a lot of it was confusing and glib. I found myself irritated by some of the condescension and examples. Even though I felt that I did get some worthwhile information, I would not recommend this book. I am sure there are other better-written books out there on the subject.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't remember where I heard about this book but it's a fun little look at grammar and punctuation in the modern day. Walsh points out the many inconsistencies we have in the world, even by those who carry Sharpies and aren't afraid to correct other people's menus and signboard. It's an interesting book that shoots at being jokey and sometimes hits but sometimes ends up being just as preachy as the people he is making fun of.

[Karen Lorberau · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was interested in the subject matter and thought this would be a fun read but he takes SO LONG to get to any point and is not that funny and I guess I figured out I don't care as much about so-called "correct" usage as I thought. And I'll bet there are bunches of what he might call errors in these sentences. But I think I got my point across.

[Tandava Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good premise, but gets tiresome. Walsh is a little too fond of watching himself write, and most bits went on for too long—either I agreed with him and didn’t need more convincing, or I disagreed with him and wished he’d just shut up already. There were a few things I was actually curious about, but it was a relatively low percentage.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Walsh's columns and tweets so I decided to try the book. It certainly contains some solid information on language and is often humorous but I didn't love the flow and it didn't absorb me enough for an additional star.

[Anna Engel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Got bored. Couldn’t care less.



(sorry)

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed the variety of word- and usage-related discussions! (Are those hyphens correct?!?) When he was tackling a big topic (like the topic of the title), it may have gone too long, but the rest were to-the-point. (Love those hyphens!) His humor throughout had me laughing out loud. For example: "WIS., WISC.: Wis is the standard abbreviation for Wisconsin. Wisc. is an abbreviation for ... wiscellaneous I guess." My kind of humor; I loved it. (Is the semi-colon correct?!?)

[Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that should be of interest to avid readers and writers and not just copy editors and proofreaders is “Yes, I Could Care Less: How To Be a Language Snob Without Being a Jerk” by Bill Walsh, a copy editor at The Washington Post.
The 2013 book examines the usual suspects of English language use and misuse, including active and passive verbs, punctuation, hyphenated words, plurals, cliches, and even “free gifts.” He tackles one of my greatest pet peeves: the misuse of “literally.” He spent all of Chapter 2 on it. You hear its misuse in speech all the time, including such ludicrous statements as, “That joke literally killed me!” But when you hear it from professional broadcasters on TV and radio, people who should know better, it’s especially irritating. I am sorry to say that I am seeing it creep into newspaper copy. I found these two paragraphs (with two misuses of “literally,” albeit one in a quotation) on Page A1 in the March 18, 2013, issue of the San Jose Mercury News, which I copy edit part time:

“The minute we got in the car, we were already behind,” [Tony] Geravesh says. “We were literally going 95 mph the whole way.”
How did Green Day, one of the biggest bands in the universe, come to pick a relatively unknown group that was 1,700 miles away for an opening slot that literally scores of acts already in Austin would have died for?

The day this story went from computer screen to the printed page, I wasn’t working there.
Walsh’s book surprisingly didn’t mention the frequent use of the redundant “process” as in the voting process, the healing process, the process of building, etc. Or the pretentious “pre-owned” (for “used”) and “issue” (for “problem”). Or the use of “arguably.”
While the book looks at the pros and cons of a long list of particular language usages, Walsh also stands back and writes about the philosophy of written language and the battle between the descriptivists and the prescriptivists. While he admits that language in general changes, particular uses of words and phrases are not inevitable. Walsh does not think that all words, phrases, and constructions are of equal quality in written English.
“As an editor well aware of the atrocities that even professional writers commit. I wonder: Have the linguists ever seen unedited prose? They must have – we all do, and of course the professors among them have had to look at papers from a wide variety of students. I imagine that they give some of those papers better grades than others. I imagine they consider some restaurants better than others. I imagine they get as peeved as the rest of us about bad drivers and telemarketers and the louts on planes who recline their seats into our laps.
“So why would something as basic and essential as language be immune from such judgment?”
I agree with Walsh. Languages changes, and many of the changes are good or at least neutral. But some changes in usage, in my opinion, weaken the expressive power of the English language. The creation of euphemisms obscures meaning. Words and sentences can be made to disseminate dishonesty. Jargon can make some academic prose so dense as to be unreadable. Other changes rob the language of clarity and distinctions (literally/figuratively).
Yes, languages changes, but shouldn’t we care enough to praise new words and phrases that expand meaning – and decry sloppiness, pretense, and deceit that decreases meaning? And write and speak following our convictions?

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, I could care less. Or I could even care more.
I like words and etymology; it's always interesting where - and how - the words came to a language.
And I like the correct punctuation and spelling (which would be much less painful if you were not expected to alho punctuate everything correctly in three languages. Yes, I get irritated of linguistic stupidities in 3 languages).
This book is good on getting back some sense in where, when and how use punctuation like -, --, ,, ;, "".
And it also gives some sense in when to hyphenate the words (like when used in a way that the word will not be hyphenated in the dictionaries). Gay marriage protestor or a gay-marriage protestor? Commonly-misspelled words? (No for that).
And the words get funkier than that...
I admit I read some parts in the beginning very loosely, as not everything after the could-care-or-couldn't-care-less snobbery grabbed my full interest. But when I got to incorrectly hyphenated gems like cheeses teak, whatever a cooter mint is, mans-laughter, I got hooked fast. What's wrong with me? Up 2.30 AM on a Saturday night and laughing at cheeses teaks and mans-laughter...

Then there are various how to spell this or that when it's spelled commonly in so many ways and there doesn't seem to be much sense or string in them. House buyer, house buyer? First time house buyer, first-time house buyer? Wait, why is it bookshop or drug store but a coffee shop? And why is a coffee shop a diner type Americana cafeteria instead of The proper type coffee shop (see Amsterdam)?

Some of the spelling atrocities I disagree with the author (but I admit, a rather entertaining way to linger and travel around spelling and punctuation without being a total snob). He insists - and this was published in 2013, not in 1994 - that it's still web site and e-mail instead of website or email. E-mail because it's d-day - so hey, why not look at these atrocities like d-day instead? To me they are just a m-monstrosity c-caused b-by s-someone w-who s-stutters a lot (I tried to spell those last two words together but I can't commit to that crime). Just like teetotaler - no tea there, just a repeated t to make the word a lot m-meaningful. So if we use d-day as an example, then it should be e-email. Ha! I mean, h-ha!

I had not realized so many words have different spellings in the dictionary - as there are several from Oxford to Webster to American Heritage. Cab drive, cab driver, seat belt, seatbelt... Wouldn't it be nice if the ways to spell conjoined and combined words in English had a more systematic way. Like if it's a bookshop, it should also be a coffeeshop. In most other languages (that I know at least, so make it six) it's clear how you spell a composed word. So is it a restaurant car or a restaurantcar in that train? There's no doubt how to spell the same vagone ristorante or ravintolavaunu for the same car. So there's some space for the language to clarify, develop, evolve etc itself. 3,5 stars would be more or less how much I do care about this book. ;)

Besides of journalists, writers, and editors, I'd recommend the book to anyone who commits any linguistic atrocities such as "I didn't used to", "love that outfit", "fave", "twerk", "tuto", "tute", and especially that Yelp and Foodspotting reviewer who described the pancakes she ate at IHOP with the word "dervish". To her, I'd also recommend using a regular dictionary.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

How could I not love this book?!!

[Richard Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Walsh has a lively, informal writing style. Rationales/discussions regarding "rules" are informative and often humorous. The difficulty is attempting to use the book as a style manual. Guidelines are hidden within discourse so are not easily found even using the index. Stick with Strunck & White, Turabian, or "Elements of Style." Touch of irony. The bookplate under item 3 "English Language" reads "grammer." :)

[Bryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bill Walsh thinks he's perfect; he's not. Why would the object "rock-climbing wall" need a hyphen between the last two words? According to him it's to avoid confusion of a possible rock climbing a wall. But why would someone other than a Neanderthal say "look at rock climbing wall." That phrase would have to have an "a" or a "the" before wall to make sense. There are other mistakes this self-described snob made.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill Walsh splits the book into three parts, and the first is uneven (he writes about being a stickler even as a child between tirades of current usage). Even with this one flaw, the book still kicks ass thanks to his sense of humor and excellent pointers when it comes to grammar and communication during a time when new terms -- think "hashtag" -- become popular overnight.

[Mance · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is a shame! I think there's a lot of interesting points in this point, and as someone who majored in linguistics and is currently moving over to editing, there were a lot of familiar names and this could have been a really enjoyable book. But Walsh's tone is so childish and petty, I couldn't finish more than a few chapters before setting it aside. Such a waste.

[Ariadna73 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting books that gives useful advice on how to use common expressions in written language. It is more oriented to people who write news, but in reality, it can help all of us (I am the first inthe line!)

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt that this book was interesting but as I read it I discovered that I make some mistakes in my everyday life but also that I could care less. I think it encapsulates the debate over whether correct grammar matters more than the ability to communicate even without perfect grammar.

[Richard Sansing · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the first line, "These are interesting times for word nerds" to the epilogue, "I suppose it's clear by now that I'm nuts," Walsh's book is a marvelous snarkfest! Highly recommended for snarky word nerds and nuts.

[Clement · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walsh attempts to strike a balance to between the prescriptivists and the descriptivists in the ancient English grammar wars. Language's function as conventional sign requires that it be stable, but grammar does evolve through use.