(Part 2) Best puns & wordplay books according to redditors

My mother got this for me last Christmas

http://www.amazon.com/Going-Hell-Hen-Basket-Malapropisms/dp/1250066271

It's a great book to just pick up and thumb through from time to time!

"Death to" is an overliteral translation. The most common translation really is "down with", just like the most common translation for "zindabad x" is "victory to x", not "life to x".

This is equivalent to the famous Farsi chant of "Marg bar Amrika". The literal meaning is "death to America", but the commonly accepted translation is "Down with America".

From the book "Found in Translation" (https://www.amazon.com/Found-Translation-Language-Shapes-Transforms/dp/039953797X) :

In Iran, the phrase Marg bar Amrika is often chanted at rallies and seen on signs held by unhappy protesters. The phrase is most commonly translated literally as "Death to America," but it actually means "Down with America."

An interpreter for Iranian President Ahmadinejad, has explained that "Death to America" is far too harsh of a translation. The interpreter pointed out, Ahmadinejad also handed out potatoes in exchange for votes, after which protesters chanted "Marg bar seeb zameeni!" They were literally saying, "Death to potatoes," but it's doubtful their intention was to kill the spuds.

Guys I found where they get their script ideas

https://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Puns-John-S-Crosbie/dp/0708814301/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1519395874&sr=8-3&keywords=pun+dictionary

Thank you so much for this! I went ahead and got this though for a start.

I love when people throw stuff out like this, never considering the vocabulary used may be for the listener, not the speaker. You're not really getting your point across by demonstrating how well you memorized Depraved and Insulting English.

Welcome to the cool-kids club.

I agree with much of what has already been said. Try to see them live, if you can't, a great "introductory" course is to watch videos while reading. Youtube, [PBS Great Performances}(http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/), Digital Theatreand even cheap used DVDs on Amazon offer a host of free and low-cost options for viewing them at home. It can also be a great tool to start understanding the difference between reading the lines as written and hearing how they rhythmically change in performance.

You will, to be honest, miss some things without reading annotations, but it's also important to note that Shakespeare is incredibly complex-- I've been studying Shakespeare for about 9 years now seriously, and there are STILL days where I open up a script I've read a million times and go "Wait...that's TOTALLY a play on words!"

If you're really serious about getting into references aspect, I would recommend picking up a Lexicon. It's an amazing resource for learning words and references, organized in about every fashion you can think of. You can get them for pretty cheap-- I think I picked both of mine up for around $5 in the "used" section. They usually come in a two volume set, so make sure you get both!

There are all sorts of great reference books available-- a really rare one (but fantastic) is called "Playing Bit Parts in Shakespeare". I tracked down a copy at a used bookstore for about $60, but it's brilliant. It breaks down all of the plays by the smaller roles and gives an explanation of why they are significant and what purpose they serve in the show.
There's also this one. I am unashamed to say I proudly display this on my bookshelf.

You will also find that every Shakespeare scholar has a STRONG opinion on what versions of texts they prefer. I personally hate the versions Penguin publishes and really prefer the Folger Library editions, but much of it has to do with personal preference.

Good luck, new Shakespeare friend!

If you're interested in some international insults, then this is the book for you. I remember the excerpt explaining the Dutch custom of associating an insult with a disease.

http://www.amazon.com/Uglier-Than-Monkeys-Armpit-Untranslatable/dp/0399535063

try this one - Woe is I https://www.amazon.com/Woe-Grammarphobes-Better-English-Fourth/dp/0525533052/ref=pd_sbs_14_2/133-7719946-2594542?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0525533052&pd_rd_r=1d9d49eb-52e6-4a5a-bfcc-c1e96a8dd8ba&pd_rd_w=U6nuO&pd_rd_wg=lGg0V&pf_rd_p=43281256-7633-49c8-b909-7ffd7d8cb21e&pf_rd_r=CQ4SVWEY5Q2BC31D2NPC&psc=1&refRID=CQ4SVWEY5Q2BC31D2NPC

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I haven't read it but it looks like what you're looking for

I am sure there must be dictionaries or websites catering to readers of specific much-published authors. Such as Dickens, for example. These lists would only contain words no longer common today, as these are the only words that need explaining.

But there are a lot of books published that call themselves "dictionary" or "concordance", even though they do NOT contain any vocabulary! So beware what you buy!

I only found one book so far that really seems to concern itself with vocabulary (albeit not in an academical but in an entertaining manner): https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Dickens-Distinctly-Dickensian-Words/dp/0762460776/

Amazon link. Sorry about the mobile page, I'm on my phone.

Your titles make me want to buy this.

You can buy a recreation here. Not the same in terms of antique awesomeness, but better than nothing?