Words You Thought You Knew: 1001 Commonly Misused and Misunderstood Words and Phrases by Jenna Glatzer Search Amazon for other books by or about Jenna Glatzer. Rating: Reviewed by: Marie Jones

Who knew we were all so grammatically challenged? Jenna Glatzer's wonderful Words You Thought You Knew: 1001 Commonly Misused and Misunderstood Words and Phrases is chock full of examples of ways we all put our feet in our mouths when it comes to using the proper vocabulary or grammar. And we thought we were all so smart!

Writers, teachers, and students will cherish this guide to troublesome words and phrases, but really everyone who writes or speaks should pick up a copy…and read it over and over until these oft-misused terms stick in the brain like a fly sticks to honey. The author, a widely published writer and editor of AbsoluteWrite.com, presents a plethora of examples of everyday language that gets butchered by even the most well-meaning articulator.

From the difference between "affect" and "effect" to using "allude" when you meant to use "elude," to knowing when to "rebut" and when to "refute" and why you should never call a "troop" a "troupe," this priceless book (and not at all pricey!) is a must-have resource that should be mandatory for college students and English majors, as well as writers and journalists and reporters and orators and well, heck, everybody because it covers so wide a playing field of words and terms that, when misused, actually do us the disservice of making our communications much less effective…or wait, is that "affective?"

We learn that certain words don't really mean what we thought they did, and that the phrases we use to imply a certain concept often mean just the opposite. No wonder people often look at us in total confusion! We may have meant to say "obsequious," but out came "obfuscate" and when we told someone the "odds" we were in fact talking about the "probability" instead. And no wonder I got mad at my husband when he said he was "aiding and abedding" instead of "aiding and abetting" the pretty neighbor next door who needed her mattress flipped.

I got such a kick out of thumbing through the book and laughing in embarrassment at all the words I've misused just in the past week. What an eye-opener this book is, and I truly compliment the author on her ability to complement her readers' vocabulary with this book. In fact, I believe this populous offering of misused words is a must for the entire populace, and if you don't know the difference, then you really need this book!!!