My Word

Some of the best 'My Word' newspaper columns have been brought together in this entertaining book to challenge our thoughts on the English language. What did stripper Gypsy Rose Lee think of the word ecdysiast? Should Thomas Crapper be blamed for one of the coarser words in our language? Why do editors like reports about sex, religion and politics? Read about the minister of religion who didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he was told his book had been banned. Among the 84 newspaper columns collected here is the touching story of a mother's love for a daughter who can never respond. Why did the song 'Little Boy Lost' bomb overseas after its amazing success in Australia? What did the journalist mean with a report that began 'weighing ten tonnes, police said...'? If a man described his wife as pulchritudinous, would that be a catastrophe? And what was the tragic story behind 'sweet FA'? Each of the essays published here deals with a word, a manner of speech or an issue that will interest Australians. In these pages a retired newspaper editor comments on some of the quirks, some of the common mistakes and a few of the issues that have made our language so interesting and frustrating.