Ever see the guy in the red glasses?
He’s Rockporter Robert Hartwell Fiske, and he’s the author of The Dictionary of Unendurable English, published last month by Simon & Schuster.
Robert Hartwell Fiske’s Dictionary of Unendurable English
A Compendium of Mistakes in Grammar, Usage, and Spelling with Commentary on Lexicographers and Linguists
Read what people think of him and his book:
However curmudgeonly, Mr. Fiske betrays a bluff humanitarian spirit….[Fiske] wants to save [the English language]. And he knows that he can count on little help. Dictionaries "have virtually no standards, offer scant guidance, and advance only misunderstanding." His own flogging of Merriam-Webster’s is one of the many pleasures of this lovely, sour, virtuous book. — The Wall Street Journal
Word snobs and copy editors should love the Dictionary of Unendurable English and cherish it as a reference book. Those learning English can benefit, too. Folks who think they have English down pat ought to read it. Fiske will quickly force them (of whom I am one) to shed that conceit. This is, of course, a form of knuckle rapping. Fiske, to his credit, makes it a pleasure to endure. — Andrew Allentuck, National Post
Fiske, the language-obsessed creator of online journal The Vocabula Review, does not mince words. Nor shall I: His dictionary is one of the grumpiest, most self-righteous intellectual exercises I’ve ever had the genuine pleasure of reading. — Mia Lipman, Shelfari
[Fiske’s] documentation of brand creep is fascinating: Reporters use non-words such as “alleve” (a misspelled rendering of a commercial analgesic) when they mean to say “relieve.” “Abilify” — an antidepressant — has been perverted into a synonym for “enable.” — Sheila Anne Feeney, Star-Ledger
Good Morning Gloucester 