Zounds!: A Browser’s Dictionary of Interjections

From Geronimo to gesundheit to haminahamina to holy mackerel, and from abracadabra to zoinks, Mark Dunn and Sergio Aragon s show you interjections like you’ve never seen them before.

Often thought of as unnecessary verbal fringe or simply linguistic decoration, interjections (ahem, howdy, mamma mia, pshaw, tally-ho, whoop-de-do) may well be the most overlooked part of speech in the English language. ZOUNDS A Browser’s Dictionary of Interjections focuses the spotlight on this most deserving (and sometimes most demented) grammatical group. A light-hearted look at more than 500 interjections, ZOUNDS explores the origins of these essential words and highlights the contributions of these previously unheralded parts of speech.

Perfect for both word lovers and the casual reader, ZOUNDS brings together the linguistic talents of Mark Dunn, author of the award-winning novel Ella Minnow Pea, and the graphic hilarity of Sergio Aragon s, the legendary cartoonist and contributor to Mad Magazine, for a delightful romp through grammar, culture, and the English language.

Famous interjections include:

“Eureka “
-Archimedes

“Badabing-badaboom”
-Tony Soprano

“Stuff and nonsense “
-Alice, Alice in Wonderland

“Bah Humbug “
-Scrooge

“Fiddle-dee-dee “
-Scarlett O’Hara

“Leapin’ lizards “
-Little Orphan Annie

“Nanoo, nanoo”
-Mork, from “Mork & Mindy”

“Dyn-O-Mite “
-Jimmie Walker, “Good Times”

“Bully “
-President Theodore Roosevelt