American English Compendium

The American English Compendium is a fun way to explore the nuances of the English language-learn that a group of lions is called a pride; a group of whales, a pod; and a group of owls, a parliament. Distinguish between a quack and a shyster. Learn that "tabling a motion" in a U.S. court has an opposite meaning from the same term in England. This book picks up where other language dictionaries leave off: it includes common proverbs, a sampling of American English versus British English, popular American expressions and slang, acronyms, and varied information on everything from wildlife to currency. In this new edition, the staples have been updated and fresh chapters have been added, with information on pronunciation, oddball English words, and even some of the new Internet terminology, including Twitterspeak.

Marv Rubinstein is a nonagenarian who has worked in many professional fields. Among other things, he served as an adjunct professor at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, teaching a course called "Quixotic English" to translation and interpretation students. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Japan Times, the Village Voice, and many other publications. He lives in New York.

1. American Spoken Here-English Understood
2. Proverbs, Slogans, and Aphorisms
3. Popular American Expressions
4. Proverbial Commentaries
5. Similes and Metaphors Indicating Extremes
6. A Pronounced Difference
7. American Slang and Colloquialisms
Animal Kingdom
Arts and Entertainment
Business and Industry
Food, Drink, Cooking, and Culinary Arts
Games and Sports
Human Body, The
Legal, Law Enforcement, and Crime
Medicine
Military
Senses and Feelings
Transportation
8. Oddball American English Words
9. British vs. American English (and Vice Versa)
British vs. American English
Automotive, Aircraft, and Transportation
American vs. British English
10. Worldwide English
Australian and New Zealand English
Indian English
Irish English
Scottish English
South African English
11. Foreign Words and Phrases Frequently Used in English
Latin
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Spanish
Yiddish
12. Common American Legal Terms
13. Common American Medical Terms
14. Business Colloquialisms, Slang, and Acronyms
15. Neologisms
16. Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Initialisms
Acronyms, General
Abbreviations and Initialisms
Clothing Sizes and Colors
Streets and Roads
Times and Dates
Medical, Science, and Math
Radio and Television
Weights and Measures
Degrees and Titles
Geography
Businesses and Organizations
Commerce and Education
Grammar, Literature, and Writing
General Use
17. Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Initialisms in the Computer, Internet, and Communications Industries
18. From Where Do You Hail?
19. For the Symbol Minded
20. Currencies of the World
21. International Measurements
22. Baby Talk
23. The Birds and the Trees
Animal Kingdom Terminology
Flowers
Birds
Fish
Trees
24. The Colorful American Language
25. Color Commentaries
26. Language and Laughter