Status
Available
Call number
Publication
St. Martin's Press (2009), Edition: 1, 320 pages
Description
Discusses those "verbal fossils" that remain embedded in our national conversation long after the topic they refer to has galloped off into the sunset. Mrs. Robinson, Edsel, "Catch-22", Gangbusters, "Alphonse and Gaston", or "Where's the beef?" are just a few of the "retroterms" that can be found in this word-lover's store of trivia and obscure references.
Media reviews
Booklist
In his excellent introduction to this language book, Keyes defines retrotalk as a "slippery slope of puzzling allusions to past phenomena," allusions that employ terms he refers to as "verbal artifacts," or phrases that hang around in our national conversation long after the topic they refer to has
Show More
vanished from memory. Hard as it may be for those of a certain age to acknowledge, young people no longer understand references to 45 rpms, breadboxes, and Ma Bell. In addition, one's comparisons also often fall along generational lines, as talking-head David Brooks discovered when he compared Hillary Clinton's first debate performance to Emily Post and her second to Howard Beale. The names of the mistress of etiquette and the raving anchorman from the movie Network do not resonate with anyone younger than 50. The bulk of Keyes' book is devoted to a pedestrian listing of such words and phrases and their origins, grouped in chapters related to the venues, such as boxing, politicians, movies, and comics, that gave rise to the terms. Still, the list makes addictive reading for word nerds and informative browsing for everyone else.--Joanne Wilkinson Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member bragan
A surprising number of the words and phrases that we use every day are actually allusions to once-current events, people, pop culture, or technology, and many more of them originated as sports references, military terms, movie-making lingo, or other kinds of specialized language. Some of them have
I Love It When You Talk Retro explores these expressions, with examples from various categories (names-turned-words, literary references, allusions to politics, etc., etc.) and short explanations of where they came from and how they entered our speech. Some seem very obvious, others interestingly obscure, but, as the author points out, which ones you think are common knowledge and which are new to you will vary from person to person, and depends a lot on exactly when you were born.
I've read a few other books lately that have dealt with similar topics, but I think this is far and away the best of them, or at least the most entertaining. That's largely because Keyes doesn't take a condescending "Here's some allusions you should be aware of if you want to be culturally literate" tone. He also doesn't organize things in a dictionary or encyclopedia format. Instead, he just takes a pleasant ramble through the history of American speech, and invites the reader along for the ride. And it's kind of fascinating, not least because it highlights the fact that so much of what we say can't be understood just by knowing what all the individual words mean, but is steeped thoroughly in our culture and history in ways that we don't necessarily even realize. It's also fun to speculate on what references or catchphrases that are current today will still be in use ten or twenty or fifty years from now, something Keyes indulges in a little bit in the final chapter.
It's hardly a comprehensive collection of "retroterms," but for language lovers, it's a pleasant and often informative read.
Show More
been used so often and for so long that they're now just part of the way we talk, long after we've forgotten what they originally referred to.I Love It When You Talk Retro explores these expressions, with examples from various categories (names-turned-words, literary references, allusions to politics, etc., etc.) and short explanations of where they came from and how they entered our speech. Some seem very obvious, others interestingly obscure, but, as the author points out, which ones you think are common knowledge and which are new to you will vary from person to person, and depends a lot on exactly when you were born.
I've read a few other books lately that have dealt with similar topics, but I think this is far and away the best of them, or at least the most entertaining. That's largely because Keyes doesn't take a condescending "Here's some allusions you should be aware of if you want to be culturally literate" tone. He also doesn't organize things in a dictionary or encyclopedia format. Instead, he just takes a pleasant ramble through the history of American speech, and invites the reader along for the ride. And it's kind of fascinating, not least because it highlights the fact that so much of what we say can't be understood just by knowing what all the individual words mean, but is steeped thoroughly in our culture and history in ways that we don't necessarily even realize. It's also fun to speculate on what references or catchphrases that are current today will still be in use ten or twenty or fifty years from now, something Keyes indulges in a little bit in the final chapter.
It's hardly a comprehensive collection of "retroterms," but for language lovers, it's a pleasant and often informative read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member MickyFine
As the introduction notes, the book is designed to be read straight through, browsed, or used as a reference for colloquialisms Keyes terms "retrotalk". He defines retrotalk as "a slippery slope of puzzling allusions to past phenomena." I found the book appealed not only to my endless fascination
The book divides itself into chapters based on the source of the terms (for example, films, the military, etc.). The general pattern of the book is that there is a paragraph devoted to each term explaining its origin with the term appearing in bold, typically towards the end of the paragraph. Reading the book straight through, I found the bolding of the terms distracting but know that this stylistic choice would make it easier to use the text for browsing or reference. Some of my favourite explanations included those for cardigan sweater, boondocks, scuttlebutt, deep-six, and Molotov cocktail.
Overall, a decent read for anyone interested in lexicography, etymology, and trivia.
Show More
with words and etymology but my delight in trivia.The book divides itself into chapters based on the source of the terms (for example, films, the military, etc.). The general pattern of the book is that there is a paragraph devoted to each term explaining its origin with the term appearing in bold, typically towards the end of the paragraph. Reading the book straight through, I found the bolding of the terms distracting but know that this stylistic choice would make it easier to use the text for browsing or reference. Some of my favourite explanations included those for cardigan sweater, boondocks, scuttlebutt, deep-six, and Molotov cocktail.
Overall, a decent read for anyone interested in lexicography, etymology, and trivia.
Show Less
LibraryThing member briantomlin
List of idiomatic expressions from the past, arranged by topic. Etertaining for word buffs, but also a useful reference work.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2010
Physical description
320 p.; 8.47 inches
ISBN
0312340052 / 9780312340056