Britishisms - think “bloody” or “rubbish” or my personal favorite “sacked” - have been a part of American vernacular since before America fought a war over taxation nearly 250 years ago. With globalization and an increasingly close tie between America and England, the Britishization of American English has accelerated over the past 25 years. Ben Yagoda, a professor emeritus of English, has curated a bespoke collection of these cheeky terms in Gobsmacked!: The British Invasion of American English.
Gobsmacked! reads as part dictionary, part story, and part linguistic history. The book covers a large swath of real estate - from historical terms to military slang to modern words that are becoming a part of American vernacular. While some of the words and expressions are downright weird, others have really made tremendous inroads into modern American life. Personally, I use “one-off” and “run-up” a fair amount. I probably don’t refer to “sports” as “sport” but there’s a not-so-small percentage of us in the States that do so now.
Gobsmacked! Is one of the more enjoyable books I’ve read this year. As a fan of the Premier League and British drama (generally), I appreciate some of the British terms oozing into American life. While I probably won’t eat a proper British breakfast anytime soon, I will enjoy proper British wit. This book delivers those at a bloody high level.
MY RATING: 5
