The African Svelte: Ingenious Misspellings That Make Surprising Sense

By: Daniel Menaker

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Synopsis: &“For language lovers, this book, with all its verbal tangles and wit, is sure to, in its own words, &‘pass mustard&’&” (Poets & Writers). Inspired by Daniel Menaker&’s tenure at the New Yorker, this collection of comical, revelatory errors foraged from the wilds of everyday English comes with commentary by the author, illustrations by Roz Chast, and a foreword from Billy Collins. During his time at the renowned magazine, Menaker happened across a superb spelling mistake: &“The zebras were grazing on the African svelte.&” Fascinated by the idea of unintentionally meaningful spelling errors, he began to see that these gaffes—neither typos nor auto-corrects—are sometimes more interesting than their straight-laced counterparts. Through examples he has collected over the course of his decades-long career as an editor and writer, he brings us to a new understanding of language—how it&’s used, what it means, and what fun it can be. Illustrated by the inimitable Roz Chast, with a foreword by former poet laureate Billy Collins, The African Svelte offers thoughtful and intelligent exit Jesus. With both uniquely happy accidents and familiar fumbles like &“for all intensive purposes&” and &“doggy-dog world,&” readers delighted by language will find themselves turning the pages with baited breath to discover fresh howlers that have them laughing off their dairy airs.