English as She is Wrote
Showing Curious ways in which the English Language may be made to convey Ideas or obscure them

by ANONYMOUS

Originally published in 1883 by D. Appleton & Co., 1, 3, & 5 Bond Street, New York USA.

This book by an anonymous author provides examples of how the (mis)use of the English language frequently leads to unintended humorous outcomes. It draws its many examples from newspaper articles, advertisements, poems, epitaphs, letters, scholars’ exams and similar to illustrate the “curious ways in which the English Language may be made to convey ideas or obscure them.”

The following extracts, taken from the papers of a class seeking admission into a High School, to which had been given a list of words for their meanings and applications, admirably illustrate the funny side of this curious little book.

• Fabulous = Full of threads: Silk is fabulous.
• Develop = To swallow up: God sent a whale to develop Jonah.
• Adequate = A land animal: An elephant is an adequate.
• Alternate = Not ternate.
• Subservient = One opposed to the upholding of servants.

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