# Gobsmacked!: The British Invasion of American English - Hardcover

by **Ben Yagoda** (Author)

**A spot-on guide to how and why Americans have become so bloody keen on Britishisms--for good or ill**

The British love to complain that words and phrases imported from America--from _French fries_ to _Awesome, man!_\--are destroying the English language. But what about the influence going the other way? Britishisms have been making their way into the American lexicon for more than 150 years, but the process has accelerated since the turn of the twenty-first century. From acclaimed writer and language commentator Ben Yagoda, _Gobsmacked!_ is a witty, entertaining, and enlightening account of how and why scores of British words and phrases--such as _one-off_, _go missing_, _curate_, _early days_, _kerfuffle_, _easy peasy_, and _cheeky_\--have been enthusiastically taken up by Yanks.

After tracing Britishisms that entered the American vocabulary in the nineteenth century and during the world wars, _Gobsmacked!_ discusses the most-used British terms in America today. It features chapters on the American embrace of British insults and curses, sports terms, and words about food and drinks. The book also explores the American adoption of British spellings, pronunciations, and grammar, and cases where Americans have misconstrued British expressions (for example, changing _can't be arsed_ to _can't be asked_) or adopted faux-British usages, like pronouncing _divisive_ as "divissive." Finally, the book offers some guidance on just how many Britishisms an American can safely adopt without coming off like an _arse._

Rigorously researched and documented but written in a light, conversational style, this is a book that general readers and language obsessives will love. Its revealing account of a surprising and underrecognized language revolution might even leave them, well, gobsmacked.

### Author Biography

**Ben Yagoda** has published more than a dozen books, including _Will Rogers: A Biography_; _About Town: "The New Yorker" and the World It Made_; _When You Catch an Adjective, Kill It: The Parts of Speech, for Better and/or Worse_; and _The Sound on the Page: Style and Voice in Writing_. He is professor emeritus of English at the University of Delaware. His blog, _Not One-Off Britishisms_, has been visited more than 3 million times.

**Number of Pages:** 288

**Dimensions:** 1.1 x 8.6 x 5.5 IN

**Publication Date:** September 24, 2024

## Details

- **Price:** 24.95 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 24.95 USD | In stock |

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- Gobsmacked!: The British Invasion of American English - Hardcover

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