1 option
The Art of Verbal Warfare / Rik Smits.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Smits, Rik, 1953- author.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Invective.
- Obscene words.
- Oral communication.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (529 pages)
- Edition:
- First edition.
- Place of Publication:
- London, England : Reaktion Books, [2022]
- System Details:
- Mode of access: World Wide Web.
- Summary:
- A funny and fascinating exploration of our reliance upon swear words, insults, and the artfully placed expletive, damn it.We use salty or artful language to win arguments, slander, cheat, and bully, as well as to express feelings of joy or frustration by swearing or "blowing off steam." Rik Smits delves into the magic of oaths and profanity, art and advertising, the lure of fake news and propaganda, as well as invective and off-color jokes the world over. This book shows why conversation dies in crowded elevators and what drives us to curse at our laptops. The Art of Verbal Warfare is, when all is said and done, the story of how we can get through life without coming to physical blows.
- Contents:
- The art of verbal warfare
- Contents
- Preface
- 1. Verbal Bloody Warfare
- 2. Fire and Brimstone
- 3. I Put a Spell on You
- 4. The Queen’s Cunt
- 5. Taking Them Down a Peg or Two
- 6. The Trouble with Twitter: Why Social Media Are Hard to Handle
- 7. Infuxation and Other Miracles of Language
- 8. Effective Invective
- 9. Song and Dance and Games People Play
- 10. The Politics of Swearing
- 11. The Names of the Lord, the State and the Insecure
- 12. The Fifteen Laws of Propaganda
- 13. How to Win a War
- Epilogue: The Trouble with Rationality
- References
- Bibliography
- Acknowledgements
- Photo Acknowledgements
- General Index
- Index of Names
- Index of Languages.
- Notes:
- Description based upon print version of record.
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.
- Description based on print version record.
- Other Format:
- Print version: Smits, Rik The Art of Verbal Warfare
- ISBN:
- 9781789145939
- OCLC:
- 1328138063
The Penn Libraries is committed to describing library materials using current, accurate, and responsible language. If you discover outdated or inaccurate language, please fill out this feedback form to report it and suggest alternative language.