<DIV>In this wide-ranging collection of essays, Richard Lederer offers readers more of the irrepressible wordplay and linguistic high jinks his fans can't get enough of, along with observations on a life in letters. From an inner-city classroom to a wordy weekend retreat, from centuries-old etymological legacies to the latest in slang, dialects, and fadspeak, these essays transport, inform, and entertain as only Lederer can. The book includes more than 30 chapters, such as A Declaration of Linguistic Independence, Our Uppity English Language, Etymological Snapshots, and Jest for the Pun of It.</DIV>