Product Description: This original, entertaining, and surprising book is a natural history of things we wish we didn't say (but do), as well as a look at what happens in American culture (and others) when we do (and wish we didn't). Covering a vast array of verbal blunders, from Spoonerisms to malapropisms to "uh" and "um," linguist and author Erard provides a look into the science to explain why they happen and a look at society for how they're received in everyday life, in politics, and in the popular culture...read more