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Eric Partridge in his own words
Bound in the publisher's original burgundy quarter cloth and paper over boards, spine stamped in gilt. Light rubbing to edges and extremities of dust jacket. Contributions from Anthony Burgess, Ralph Elliott, Winston Graham, and Randolph Quirk.
251 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1980
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March 24, 2021
A selection of extracts from the works of the great Eric Partridge, author of the once-standard English style primer "Usage and Abusage".
Actually EP is not really great, I was kidding, at best he's very good - but he is charming, in a old dufferish way. Industrious and enthusiastic about his subjects - English, mainly, but also other languages - fairly scholarly, but also keenish to show himself not so much of an ol' fuddy-duddy, quite the well-rounded man and even a bit of a chap, in some of his comments.
Since I share his fascination with how languages get to be how they are (well, were, now, given that this collection was published in 1980 and contains material going back to the 1920s), a question he pursued far and wide and fairly deep in at least dozens of books, I'm also intrigued by the person behind and in the work, so this was a treat for me. I also like the fact that, unfashionably (which is hardly surprising for a man who served in two world wars), he does not just careful research but also intelligent speculation.
The book is split into four main sections: Word-Books, Word-Levels, Words and Dictionaries - the last consisting of two-page spreads from just ten of his reference works, the other three with various stuff on his own life, etymologies, slang, incl. underworld slang, euphemism (that's a good one), "familiar terms of address" (likewise), and so on. Inevitably it's uneven, but most of it makes easyish and pleasant reading, even when his theme as as uninteresting as the origin of the word "hogmanay", which is the example I selected for the "couldn't give a monkey's" entry in my own forthcoming dictionary.
If you only read one miscellany of middlebrow articles by a half-forgotten self-made scholar who knew how to let his short back and sides down a bit at the office party this year, make it "Eric Partridge in his Own Words".
Actually EP is not really great, I was kidding, at best he's very good - but he is charming, in a old dufferish way. Industrious and enthusiastic about his subjects - English, mainly, but also other languages - fairly scholarly, but also keenish to show himself not so much of an ol' fuddy-duddy, quite the well-rounded man and even a bit of a chap, in some of his comments.
Since I share his fascination with how languages get to be how they are (well, were, now, given that this collection was published in 1980 and contains material going back to the 1920s), a question he pursued far and wide and fairly deep in at least dozens of books, I'm also intrigued by the person behind and in the work, so this was a treat for me. I also like the fact that, unfashionably (which is hardly surprising for a man who served in two world wars), he does not just careful research but also intelligent speculation.
The book is split into four main sections: Word-Books, Word-Levels, Words and Dictionaries - the last consisting of two-page spreads from just ten of his reference works, the other three with various stuff on his own life, etymologies, slang, incl. underworld slang, euphemism (that's a good one), "familiar terms of address" (likewise), and so on. Inevitably it's uneven, but most of it makes easyish and pleasant reading, even when his theme as as uninteresting as the origin of the word "hogmanay", which is the example I selected for the "couldn't give a monkey's" entry in my own forthcoming dictionary.
If you only read one miscellany of middlebrow articles by a half-forgotten self-made scholar who knew how to let his short back and sides down a bit at the office party this year, make it "Eric Partridge in his Own Words".
Displaying 1 of 1 review