Dictionary of Fine Distinctions

藻泽与苔沼有何不同？内疚与羞愧如何区分？苏打水与气泡水是一回事吗？从饮食到时尚，从伦理到建筑，成千上万的词语和概念常被我们混为一谈、模糊处理或混淆不清。这本为咬文嚼字者和语言爱好者打造的《微妙差异词典》，邀您探访纤毫毕现的语义世界，以妙趣横生的深度探究与生动插画，助您厘清微妙差别，让思考变得清晰透彻。

"绝妙的构想，精彩的呈现。以后每次喝拿铁，都会想到这本书！ 读起来真是一种享受。"

——语言学家、《剑桥语言百科全书》作者戴维·克里斯特尔

"马克·吐温曾建言：'要用确切的词，而非其隔代表亲。'埃利·伯恩斯坦这部令人愉悦的著作，恰能在需要精微辨义时助您找到最贴切的词汇。它甚至能帮您厘清亲戚关系：堂表亲与隔代表亲究竟有何区别？答案尽在书中！"

——《华尔街日报》语言专栏作家本·齐默

"犹如模糊影像逐渐对焦，英语中精微差异的辨析让我们更清晰地观察世界。埃利·伯恩斯坦的妙趣阐释不仅澄澈我们的措辞选择，更提醒我们：在语言上下功夫，永远值得。"

——韦氏词典特约编辑彼得·索科洛夫斯基

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Swamp or bog? Guilt or shame? Club soda or sparkling water? From food to fashion, ethics to architecture, there are thousands of words and ideas that we tend to collapse, conflate, or confuse. For hairsplitters and language lovers, Dictionary of Fine Distinctions explores the world of the vanishingly small, offering up witty deep dives and lively illustrations to help sharpen these differences and bring us clarity at last.

"A great idea, beautifully realized. I shall never have a latte again without thinking of this book! A joy to read." --David Crystal, Linguist and Author of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.

"Mark Twain once advised, 'Use the right word, not its second cousin.' Eli Burnstein's delightful book will help you figure out just the right word to use when nuances matter. And it will even help you figure out your cousins: What's the difference between a second cousin and a cousin twice removed, anyway? The answer lies within!" ---Ben Zimmer, Wall Street Journal language columnist

"Like bringing a blurry image into focus, the fine distinctions we make in English sharpen our view of the world. Eli Burnstein‘s witty explanations clarify our choice of words and remind us that, with language, precision is its own reward." --―Peter Sokolowski, Editor at Large, Merriam Webster