# american/english colloquial word for "a book"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 29, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106 "2012-01-29T19:59:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/41 "2012-01-30T17:25:57Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > And as a precision on this, what I meant is that you can say something like “passe-moi le bouquin en face de toi”, but “give me the _read_ in front of you” would be semantically incorrect. “Book” is the only word that works here. “Read” seems to be a familiar term for a book _as a thing to be read_, not for the physical object that a book is. Yes, “read” as a noun is more about the content that the form. “Man, that story was a good read!” may compliment the structure, or the characters, or the action in the story, but it says nothing about where the words were carried (magazine, hardcover, ebook on iPad, whatever) or even such things as the typography. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/42 "2012-01-30T17:28:07Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > Then how do you explain that “bouquin” (two syllables) is a slang term for “livre” (one syllable)? Obviously language doesn’t always move in the direction of shortening words. Perhaps it’s because a lot of English colloquial terms - esp. the ones that have lasted a long time rather than being an in-group term - have that Anglo-Saxon hard consonants + monopthong sound that book already has. And actually I can’t think of a really widespread slang term for car or house. Jam-jar? (Cockney for car). Motor? Wheels? None of those are used that often. House = pad, maybe? Place? (As in “my place.”) Not sure they’re used that often. Certainly not like in the OP, where the slang term is used more often than the official term. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/43 "2012-01-30T17:29:18Z")
Years ago, critic John Simon used to complain about the use of the word “movie,” on the grounds that the word seemed like a silly, affectionate nickname for a serious art form. Simon, of course, preferred the word “film.” And he pointed out, correctly, that there is no similar word for a book. No one, Simon said, would ever refer to a book as a “printie.” But as many people have pointed out, there are numerous nicknames for TYPES of books, or for literary genres… from “Whodunit” for a mystery. to “Horse Opera” for a Western. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/44 "2012-01-30T18:31:51Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Years ago, critic John Simon used to complain about the use of the word “movie,” on the grounds that the word seemed like a silly, affectionate nickname for a serious art form. Simon, of course, preferred the word “film.” > > And he pointed out, correctly, that there is no similar word for a book. No one, Simon said, would ever refer to a book as a “printie.” But “film” is slang, too, since it actually refers to the medium itself. Moving Picture was fairly synonymous to e-book, for which “movie” is a natural short just as “talkie” was, Just wait, however. We’ll soon be hearing about printed e-books. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/45 "2012-01-30T18:41:59Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Perhaps it’s because a lot of English colloquial terms - esp. the ones that have lasted a long time rather than being an in-group term - have that Anglo-Saxon hard consonants + monopthong sound that book already has. > > And actually I can’t think of a really widespread slang term for car or house. Jam-jar? (Cockney for car). Motor? Wheels? None of those are used that often. > > House = pad, maybe? Place? (As in “my place.”) Not sure they’re used that often. Certainly not like in the OP, where the slang term is used more often than the official term. “Car” is a bit of a colloquialism. If I were being very formal I’d say “automobile”. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/46 "2012-01-30T18:42:15Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > But wouldn’t “he bummed a smoke from me” be more parallel to “he borrowed a cigarette from me”? “He bummed me a smoke” implies that he was acquiring the smoke _for_ you; for example, you might be at your desk and unable to go to the other smokers. > > And notice the difference in connotation. To “borrow” implies an explicit intention to return; “to bum” involves asking as if you’re borrowing, but both parties know it might as well be a gift. “He bummed a fag…” Hopefully you don’t even hear that in an English public school nowadays. 😃 The best source of this sort of thing is really snarky book reviews. _Potboile_r is the best, indicating an unimaginative formulaic book. _Paperback_ has connotations, since the cheaper novels tended to be published, especially decades ago, in paperback. _Dime-store paperback_ is a refinement of the concept. (Look up lyrics for The Beatles’ _Paperback Writer_.) Tome carries the implication of old and musty, suggesting as a novel it is tedious and moldy, possibly pretentious, more suited as a paperweight than an enjoyable read. I always assumed \*pomme de terre \*was the name because raw potatoes when cut look inside just like apples - even though they don’t taste the same and are a lot firmer than most apples. Still better than Frites Liberte. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/47 "2012-01-30T18:50:25Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > In Quebec, they frequently say “patate” so there’s no need to invent a word. Historically, “apple” meant fruit and to call it an earth apple is not such a stretch. Incidentally, the German word for potato is Kartoffel and it is reportedly derived, somehow, from Herdapfel (Herd = hearth, Apfel = apple). Go figure. Not quite. There are two German words: Kartoffel, derived from the italian Tartuffe for the truffle (because it’s also buried in the earth) Erdapfel - which translates to earth apple (not hearth). And potato, like batate, simply derives from the Indian native word for it. Almost all European languages either imported the Indian word or used an analogy to describe this thing that grows in the earth. And a potato is closer to an apple than to a root in appearance. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/48 "2012-01-30T19:14:59Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > “Car” is a bit of a colloquialism. If I were being very formal I’d say “automobile”. I noted this before, then realized ‘car’ is a shorter form of ‘motorcar’. Now ‘car’ has a history as a wheeled vehicle, so it’s not really slang. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/49 "2012-01-30T19:47:44Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > There are two German words: Kartoffel, … Erdapfel … Are those used equally everywhere (in the German-speaking world), or is there a regional preference? ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/50 "2012-01-30T20:09:38Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > House = pad, maybe? Place? (As in “my place.”) Not sure they’re used that often. Certainly not like in the OP, where the slang term is used more often than the official term. “Digs” comes up now and then. It’s usually a magazine or tabloid that’s referred to as a “rag,” but I’ve heard cheap paperback books called rags. Not often enough that it counts as real slang. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/51 "2012-01-30T20:24:15Z")
> [@Bytegeist](#): > > Are those used equally everywhere (in the German-speaking world), or is there a regional preference? Kartoffel is the main and official word, but the other names like Erdäpfel oder Grundbirn and dialect variations are indeed [distributed regionally](http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erd%C3%A4pfel#Regionale_Namen), so a linguist can determine what region a person comes from by what dialect word for potato he uses. It has even spread East: > [@](#): > > Der Wortstamm Grumbier hat sich auch in den südslawischen Sprachen verbreitet: auf serbokroatisch heißt die Kartoffel Krumpir. > > Ähnlich ist Kumpir, ein türkisches Fastfood-Gericht, es besteht vor allem aus großen Kartoffeln. > > Im Russischen und Polnischen wurde dagegen „Kartoffel“ als Fremdwort übernommen, wobei in Polen auch der Begriff ziemniak (Erdling) verbreitet ist. Der tschechische Begriff brambor leitet sich von Braniborsko (Brandenburg) ab, von wo aus die Kartoffel einst nach Böhmen eingeführt wurde. > > \*The word root Grumbier has spread to the south-slavic languages, too: in serbocroation, potato is called Krumpir. > > Similar is Kumpir, a turkish fastfood which mainly consists of big potatoes\*. > > In Russian and Polish on the other hand the name Kartoffel was taken as foreign loanword, although in Poland the name ziemniak (earthling) is also used. The Czech word brambor derives from Baniborsko (Brandenburg, a region in North-East Germany), from which the potatoe was orginally introduced into Bohemia.\* - Kartoffel is used nowadays as derisive nickname from Turkish-descent kids against German kids in schools. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/52 "2012-01-30T20:32:01Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I noted this before, then realized ‘car’ is a shorter form of ‘motorcar’. Now ‘car’ has a history as a wheeled vehicle, so it’s not really slang. I thought car was originally short for ‘carriage’? You can say ‘railway car’ as well as ‘motor car’. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/53 "2012-01-30T20:40:44Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > I thought car was originally short for ‘carriage’? You can say ‘railway car’ as well as ‘motor car’. Well now it’s in the slang category, maybe. I recalled something about ‘car’ deriving from ‘cart’ in other languages, didn’t think about the ‘carriage’ aspect. But wouldn’t ‘carriage’ derive from ‘carry’? I think we need the etymologists to look at this one. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/54 "2012-01-30T22:41:17Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > But wouldn’t “he bummed a smoke from me” be more parallel to “he borrowed a cigarette from me”? “He bummed me a smoke” implies that he was acquiring the smoke _for_ you; for example, you might be at your desk and unable to go to the other smokers. Maybe so. I don’t use the verb “to bum” very often (if ever), so I may have been using it incorrectly here. Still, using “smoke” as slang for “cigarette” is parallel to using “bouquin” as slang for “livre”. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/55 "2012-01-30T23:57:00Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > Maybe so. I don’t use the verb “to bum” very often (if ever), so I may have been using it incorrectly here. Still, using “smoke” as slang for “cigarette” is parallel to using “bouquin” as slang for “livre”. And I don’t smoke. 🙂 This has nothing to the verb ‘to bum’ specifically; I was just pointing out the common English construction of \\\\: \\\<(for) me\>\. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/56 "2012-01-31T00:03:58Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > And I don’t smoke. 🙂 Neither do I. 😉 The word “smoke” for “cigarette” was just the first example that popped into my mind. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/57 "2012-01-31T02:01:29Z")
From [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com): _Origin: 1350–1400; Middle English carre \< Anglo-French \< Late Latin carra (feminine singular), Latin carra, neuter plural of carrum, variant of carrus \< Celtic; compare Old Irish carr wheeled vehicle_ ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/58 "2012-01-31T03:36:06Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > And I don’t smoke. 🙂 This has nothing to the verb ‘to bum’ specifically; I was just pointing out the common English construction of \\\\: \\\<(for) me\>\. “Can you bum me a smoke” means “can you give/lend me a smoke” in my dialect. It’s like “borrow” in that sense. “Can you borrow me a buck” means “Can you lend me a dollar” in some “non-prestige” dialects. That’s how people in my neighborhood talk, for instance. There’s no confusion. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/59 "2012-01-31T11:40:53Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I noted this before, then realized ‘car’ is a shorter form of ‘motorcar’. Now ‘car’ has a history as a wheeled vehicle, so it’s not really slang. True in this case…but just because a word has a “history” (nearly all do, and most are known at least as far back as the Gallo-Roman ‘carrus’) doesn’t mean it’s not “slang”. In other words, mamy slang words are neologisms, but many are not (if by “slang” we mean “very informal speech, especially if used by a particular group”). ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2012, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106/60 "2012-01-31T11:58:47Z")
I would say paperback is the informal word for book. In general terms I think of a paperback as cheap, disposable, light entertainment. A book is something more formal. Hemingway & Tolstoy wrote books. Stephen King & Tom Clancy write paperbacks. Yes, I’m sure with effort you can find literary classic in paperback bindings. But my perception is paperbacks are a broader, more commercial type of writing. I would never waste $25 for a hard back Clancy novel. Clancy=$9.99 paperback in my mind. Tolstoy=$30 hard back [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-english-colloquial-word-for-a-book/611106.md?page=4)