by Erin Moore
New York: Gotham Books, 2015. 223 pgs. Nonfiction
American by birth, author Erin Moore, now living in London with her Anglo-American husband uses her unique position to explore the cultural differences of English and Americans through their shared language. In each chapter, Moore introduces a word and explains its meaning on both sides of the pond, but then delves deeper into what these differences say about who we are as a people. I learned just as much about my own American culture as I did about the British culture.
The book discusses many words I was already familiar with such as “gobsmacked”, but shed light on their origins or evolution over time. It also introduced me to many new words such as “Moreish” (according to Cambridge Dictionaries Online it means, (of food) having a very pleasant taste and making you want to eat more).
If you are an Anglophile like myself, this book is a must read. In addition, those interested in the origin of words or ethnography will also find this a fascinating read. I quite enjoyed reading it (in the American sense of the word).
AJ
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