Better Than Great: A Plenitudinous Compendium of Wallopingly Fresh Superlatives

By Arthur Plotnik

Better Than Great is a unique thesaurus of praise and acclaim, containing humankind's largest gathering of fresh, potent and larky superlatives for anyone struggling to describe extraordinary things or experiences in ways that will do them justice. The English language has thousands of words to praise but 'cool', 'good' and 'great' have become our default choices. In Better Than Great Arthur Plotkin adds fresh and engaging new words to our vocabulary of praise, sorted into appropriate categories for easy use. As an antidote to dull and, ultimately, devaluing language, Better Than Great restores distinction, persuasiveness and delight to our praise. The book is an entertainment in itself, drawing on all levels of expression and offering bonus lists, quotes, sidebar features and the author's spirited advice and observations on each type of acclaim. Better Than Great draws its terms from slang dictionaries, contemporary writing, specialised glossaries and various quirky sources including the author's right brain. It presents its inventive terms not simply as fixed locutions but as springboards for further creativity. It is the must-have reference for anyone seeking to rise above tired phrases when quality matters. Critics, journalists, novelists, public speakers, sales reps, marketers, bloggers, Twitterers-any writer across the digital and literary spectrum-will all find ways to recharge their acclamatory powers and the perfect alternatives to those worn-out phrases that are used too often.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Souvenir Press
• Release date: Jun 26, 2012
• ISBN: 9780285641341

Arthur Plotnik

Arthur Plotnik (1937 - August 28, 2020) was a photographer, journalist, author and librarian, known for being the editor of American Libraries magazine for fifteen years. Plotnik worked for the American Library Association for over twenty years.

Reviews for Better Than Great

[rockstarninja_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Any words I might use to describe just how brilliantly adroit this book is will pale in comparison to the sheer amount of options this book has made available to me. The book is arranged into several different categories for easy use and gives histories on some of the most popular superlatives. I think I would have to study Better Than Great for a few weeks before I can truly use all these words in place of my too overused go-to's like amazing and excellent. A definite must have for anyone in any kind of literary field or anyone who loves words of all kinds.I received this book as part of the GoodReads Giveaway.

[detailmuse · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Over a career, author and editor Plotnik has urged writers to be more exciting and engaging with words. Now regarding superlatives, he writes, “We find ourselves defaulting to such habitual choices as good, great, and terrific, or substituting the weary synonyms that tumble out of a thesaurus...” And then we have to doctor them up by underlining, italicizing, CAPITALIZing and punc.tu.ating!So here he compiles 6000 “wallopingly fresh” adjectives, adverbs and multi-word expressions. They’re lively and imaginative, with a palpable pop-culture influence and mostly suited to writing that’s energetic not formal. Their organization is not typical-thesaurus alphabetical but rather in chapters by evocative intent, for example:• degree of acclaim, e.g. great (“seize-the-day special”) vs sublime (“nirvanic”) vs exceptional (“certified rare”);• physical/ mental/ emotional/ spiritual effect (“blistering,” “emotional eggbeater,” “aneurism-inducingly funny”);• beauty or gastronomy (“Halle Berry 2.0,” “noshalicious”);• size/ intensity (“hangar-sized,” “Wagnerian”); and• degrees of cool and wicked cool (“cool in high-def,” “cold”).All lists include a range from vintage terms to modern to ultra-trendy. Appendices include txt-ready abbreviations and a bibliography lists additional online and print sources.As a reference work, it’s difficult to use; it was only in digging deeply for this review that I began to meaningfully differentiate among the chapter categories. And there are hundreds of expressions in each, not something to browse in a moment of need. Still, I agree that language needs freshening, so I'm following the approach Plotnik suggests in an appendix -- to compile a starter set of fresh words I'd actually use (he supplies one) and begin to get comfortable using them.(Review based on an advance reading copy provided by the publisher.)

[shadowofthewind · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Better than great deals with the problem of over-used words. Tired of great, unbelievable, and sublime? This book will provide creative and sometimes strange alternatives you won’t find in your thesaurus. Plotnik deals with the general problem of praise inflation. Not everything can be great or unbelievable. “Approaching some two billion appearances in a web search, it certainly has lost whatever specialty it had. If two billion things are special, what’s left to be ordinary?” P. 4It often reminds me of the Princess Bride, “Inconceivable!” “I don’t think that word means what you think it means.” It may sound good to exclaim and heave importance on whatever you are doing, but a recalibration using this book may give your statements more impact. The author even provides his own version of a thesaurus to help and some concepts that help create your own phrasing.The book covers 15 categories: GreatSublimePhysically Affecting, Mentally, Emotionally, or Spirtually AffectingBeautifulJoy-givingLargeExceptionalIntenseDeliciousTrendyCoolWicked CoolForcefulChallenging belief or expressionI also enjoyed how to create your own superlatives:Hyperbole: mind incinerating; it puts your atoms in orbitPersonification: eats great for breakfast; reality on a toot; what great aspires toLitotes (understatement): not exactly nothing; hardly insignificantGermanism: lock-me-up-and-throw-away-the-key-gorgeous; trim-sail-and-batten-down-the-hatchesMetaphor: a tarantella on the tongue; a fun house; mastondonic; El DoradoEnallage (shifting a word’s normal grammatical role): great served hot; an eruption of fabulous; a hangarful of happy.Oxy-moron: damnably good, distressingly handsomeAlliteration: Pillar to post perfectIrony (opposite meaning): the illest, way sickGenerally the book helps a writer think outside of the box. When stuck, a typical thesaurus can just make your work sounds like the episode of Friends where Joey uses one creating a ridiculous document. However, using this book too much can make you sound old-fashioned, strange, or like Virginia Woolf. However, the book drastically changed how I think about word choice. Precision and specificity shows that you are truly paying attention to what someone is saying and how you are responding. It gives the feeling that I am more engaged in what is going on instead of merely dismissing something as awesome or great. This book is definitely something to have handy and place next to your thesaurus the next time you get stuck