You're Saying It Wrong ─ A Pronunciation Guide to the 150 Most Commonly Mispronounced Words and Their Tangled Histories of Misuse

An entertaining and informative guide to the most commonly mispronounced words, along with their correct pronunciations and pithy forays into their fascinating etymologies and tangled histories of use and misuse.

We've all experienced the mortification that ensues when we attempt to say a word that we suddenly realize we have absolutely no idea how to say properly. This handy little book saves you from those sticky linguistic situations--and provides additional fascinating cocktail-party-ready anecdotes. Pithy entries reveal how to pronounce boatswain like an old salt on the deck of a ship,trompe l'oeil like a bona fide art expert, and haricot vert like a foodie, while arming you with the knowledge of why certain words are correctly pronounced the "slangy" way" (they came about before dictionaries), what stalks of grain have to do with pronunciation, and more. With bonus sidebars like "How to Sound like a Seasoned Traveler" and "How to Sound Cultured," readers will be able to speak on the worlds of foreign foods and places, fashion, philosophy, and literature with authority.

ROSS PETRAS and KATHRYN PETRAS are the authors of the #1 best-selling page-a-day calendarThe 365 Stupidest Things Ever Said (now in its 21st year with over 4.5 million copies sold),Wretched Writing, It Always Seems Impossible Until It's Done, The Anthology of Really Important Modern Poetry, and more. Their work has received the attention of personalities like David Brinkley and Howard Stern and media outlets including theNew York Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, Playboy, Cosmopolitan, Washington Post, Huffington Post, and theLondon Times. They have appeared on hundreds of radio and TV shows includingGood Morning America (about menopause), CNN (about bad poetry) and Fox and Friends(about Paris Hilton).