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FeaturesMarch 5, 1997

Last time around, I discovered I had bitten off more than I could chew -- or eschew, as the Richard Lederer, author of "Crazy English," might have punned it. Hence the delay in reviewing his delightful book, "The Adventures of a Verbivore." Most literates are familiar with "Crazy English," but how many elderly women living alone have entertained two handsome young gentlemen at the same time? This was my first thought as I opunned the door to Richard Lederer and Judge Bill Rader. ...

Aileen Lorberg

Last time around, I discovered I had bitten off more than I could chew -- or eschew, as the Richard Lederer, author of "Crazy English," might have punned it. Hence the delay in reviewing his delightful book, "The Adventures of a Verbivore."

Most literates are familiar with "Crazy English," but how many elderly women living alone have entertained two handsome young gentlemen at the same time? This was my first thought as I opunned the door to Richard Lederer and Judge Bill Rader. Who would be entertaining whom?

But this is a long-overdue review of a very punny book, not a brief on an early morning session with two polished verbivores of my acquaintance. And the term "verbivore" must be defined before we proceed. Lederer's alter ego evolved from the Latin vorus, meaning to devour. Going dictionaries one better, he explains that whereas carnivores consume meat, piscivores eat fish, and herbivores chomp plants, it follows that a verbivore devours words.

"The Adventures of a Verbivore" is a composite of the author's lifelong experiences in working and playing with words and their uses -- a combination autobiography, travel journal, reference guide for other logolepts -- and a paean in praise of life and living, with a never-ending passion for words.

A dedicated teacher all his life, Richard Lederer's name has been a synonym for St. Paul's School in Concord, N.H., for years. A humorist nonpareil, he is also in great demand for travel talks, and travels the country over to acquaint himself with the language spoken by English-speaking people of every level of education and class.

American dialects is among his favorite topics, and pervades "The Adventures" throughout. Excerpts from his talk shows are also included, though the author claims he will talk to anyone about anything even if he has to change sides to defend his right. Of course, many of his talk shows are characteristically pun-in-cheek. He even teaches classes in the art of punnery along with English, and his methods are thought-provoking, infectious, and extremely punny.

In 1963, Lederer received the Punster of the Year Award from The International Save the Pun Foundation at a gala affair in Chicago. Applause prompted him to puntificate:

"For all of us who have experienced the long-distance punner, the dinner in Chicago was the farce that launched a thousand quips. More than 200 loaded punslingers attended, pleased to have so many pun pals to go out wit."

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This occasion proved to be a very rewording experience. No doubt rewarding as well. Most of Lederer's books on language are rife with puns of every stamp. Among them are "Anguished English," "The Write Way," and "Get Thee to a Punnery." The immortal Shakespeare, also a renowned punslinger, must have salivated over that one.

Never mind that Richard Lederer is also President of SPELL, The International Society for the Preservation of the English Language and Literature. Sense and nonsense go hand in hand in the life and language of linguist Lederer. As he states it, there are two sides to language, the outside and the inside. Actually, Lederer sees words as multi-sided, to say nothing of the inside. He can take any word -- even the word "word" -- and wind up with a whole essay on the subject. In the beginning was the Word, remember?

Also well-versed in the Holy Bible, this non-stop talker is on friendly terms with King James as well as Britspeak. Equally familiar with American and British slang and educant, he dotes on Prep School Slanguage because he has three daughters who were preppies and who clued him in on the rapid changes in slanguage. Changes aside, a good many of our acceptable words today, he tells us, began as slang used by thieves, vagrants, addicts, hippies -- and preppies.

As for Real English, Lederer avers that most people think they are the only ones who speak Real English. All others speak dialects. The truth is, Real English is also a dialect. In response to a talk-show caller who complained that in a really good language, words that sound alike should mean the same, Lederer replied that if you look for logic in language you will never find it because human beings are not logical, and our language is what makes us human.

On Ebonics, the master teacher takes the "wait and see" stand, though he demonstrates by his perfect grammar and rhetoric where he plans to remain. Meanwhile, he says he "will go anywhere to spread the word about words," and in going anywhere, he adds, "I hear America singing. We are teeming nations within a nation, a nation that is like a world. We talk in melodies of infinite variety, we dance to their sundry measures and lyrics."

Lovely, lovely. But sad to say, the real reason Richard Lederer came to my door on Sunday, Feb. 2, was not to spread the word about words. In Part I of this column, I accused him of taking my space with him while searching for Cyberspace, and he is still searching.

May he long continue. My thanks to him, and to my beloved cousins in Dallas, Texas, for adding his incomparable "Adventures" to my shelves on a subject that has more or less governed my life.

Aileen Lorberg is a language columnist for the Southeast Missourian.

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