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How to Sound Smart: A Quick and Witty Guide
How to Sound Smart A Quick and Witty Guide Author:Norah Vincent, Chad Conway Have you ever said Schadenfreude? (page 192) Maybe you actually know what a chef d'oeuvre is, but are afraid to say it out loud because you might mispronounce it (page 42). You know you're smart. You know you're as smart as all those people who say ipso facto (page 109) and prima facie (page 170). You just don't sound smart enough--yet. Do you k... more »now what deus ex machina means (page 62)? What about pari passu (161)? Sturm und Drang (206)? Auto-da-f? (21)? Are you feeling Panglossian, Quixotic, or Machiavellian? Not sure which? Check pages 159, 175, and 130. If someone mentions The Frankfurt School, The Gordian knot, or The Fourth Estate, do you quiver with fear, or cheerfully allude to the ghost in the machine? (pages 86, 93, 85, and 90) Join the cognoscenti (page 47)! How to Sound Smart: A Quick and Witty Guide will help you beat the language snobs at their own game. After absorbing this handy guide to the vocabulary arsenal of the intellectual set, you'll never confuse Dr. Johnson's boot with Occam's Razor again (pages 64 and 154).« less