Free Drinks for Ladies with Nuts

by Jane O'Boyle

This hilarious book takes the reader on a grand tour of mangled English, Freudian slips and other malapropisms in a compendium of authentic signs, phrases, headlines, labels, menus and advertisements from all around the world.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0452281148
• ISBN13: 9780452281141
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: Plume Books
• Length: 125 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

One of My FAVORITE books

wanna laugh a whole lot? Great book to open and feel better right away. Funny humans!

(4-) The Misuse and Abuse of the English Language

This is a delightful collection of what the author terms "mangled English"; it includes malapropisms, inappropriate although sometimes technically correct translations, misspellings, and instances that simply reflect a lack of thought or care by the individual involved. Most of the items included in the book are very brief, they often consist of only a few words (e.g. menus items that were translated in a humorous fashion) or a single phrase. Very few of the selections are as lengthy as a complete paragraph. Thus, the book can be sampled and skimmed in bite size morsels, and it is a wonderful item to be placed in locations where people pick it up, get a good laugh by reading a few selections and then return to it at their convenience (e.g waiting rooms in offices, subway briefcases, coffee tables, and magazine buckets in bathrooms).The author has segmented the items into twelve categories; the majority involve inappropriate translations in some context, such as the suggestion at a Bangkok dry cleaner to "Drop your trousers here for best results" or the Swedish ad that "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux". However, there are also some sections that involve American misuse of our own native language, such as the sign in a hospital maternity ward that advised "no children allowed", or the warning in a Pennsylvania cemetery that "persons are prohibited from picking flowers from any but their own graves". One of my favorites was the Ohio shop that proudly advertised "We buy junk and sell antiques".Of course, the quality of the entries are uneven, as is inevitable in a collection of this type, Some are clever and will make you laugh out loud, some are quite cute and will occasion a smile, some involve words that are inappropriate and quite embarrassing in the context in which they are used, and a few seem to not deserve being included. But probably each reader's judgment will differ with regard to the level of humor of the individual items included in this collection. This is also a great book for sharing with others. I was reading one section while watching TV with my wife, and found myself frequently reading the more enjoyable items out loud to her. And when I was reading it alone, I'd on occasion feel compelled to note the items that I wanted to share with others in the future. While the pieces are too long to include in this review, my favorite section is definitely "Ads with Impact", written to appeal English speaking customers by people who often have just enough knowledge of our language to mangle the impression that they are trying to create.So while this is not a great piece of literature, nor a work of wonderful insights, and certainly not filled with action, adventure and romance, Jane O'Boyle has managed to assemble an enjoyable collection of fractured English signs, movie marquees, advertisements, product names and other miscellaneous items that certainly approaches a four star level of enjoyment.Tucker Andersen

I think this is a great little book!

I was going to give this as a gift, but once I started reading it, I had to buy a second copy for myself. I think this book is hysterical. Sorry, but lines from foreign movies like "Honey, this food smells weird. Did you fart?" never fail to make me laugh. If I'm easily amused, so be it, but then, can't help it. I enjoy laughing. The book is not written to be a scholarly tome, so it does not have exact references, but from my own experiences in travelling, buying foreign products and watching MANY foreign movies this stuff rings true. The book costs only cost a few bucks and I've more than gotten my money's worth in smiles, chuckles, giggles and outright laughs. Lightweight, yeah. Worth it, definitely!

Also a great gift!

My friend and I accidentally read this book cover-to-cover while killing time at a bookstore. We just couldn't put it down, and for this I blame the chapter on English subtitles to foreign films ("Look! His torso is here, but his arm is fighting all the way over there!") This book is well-presented and covers a wide variety of topics, from store marquees to the aforementioned English subtitles to product slogans, and really has something for everyone. I am not being at all liberal in giving it five stars; I feel everyone should read it. Just make sure you're not drinking water when you do, or it will wind up sprayed from your mouth onto the floor. Believe me, I know.

Never Laughed So Hard

You must have this book! It is so much fun