Richard Lederer (writer)
Richard Lederer is an American linguist, author, speaker, and teacher. He is best known for his books on the English language and on wordplay such as puns, oxymorons, and anagrams. He has been dubbed "the Wizard of Idiom," "Attila the Pun," and "Conan the Grammarian." His weekly column, "Lederer on Language," appears in the San Diego Union-Tribune and his articles are in newspapers and magazines throughout the United States including the Mensa Bulletin.
He was elected International Punster of the Year in 1989 and was the 2002 recipient of the Golden Gavel of Toastmasters International.
Early life and education
The youngest of five children, Lederer grew up in West Philadelphia. He graduated from Haverford College as a pre-med student. He attended Harvard Law School for one year, then switched to the Master of Arts in teaching program at Harvard University. He taught English and media at the St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire for 27 years until 1989. In 1980, he earned a PhD in Linguistics from the University of New Hampshire. His Jewish parents were from Poland and Germany, and he had a bar mitzvah.
Career
He has written more than 50 books, including Anguished English books starting in 1987, Get Thee to a Punnery, Crazy English, The Miracle of Language, Amazing Words, and The Joy of Names.
Known as a "verbivore," a word he coined in the late 1980s, Lederer's interests include uncovering word and phrase origins, pointing out common grammatical errors and fallacies, and exploring palindromes, anagrams, and other forms of recreational wordplay.
His books about various subjects other than language include Presidential Trivia, A Treasury for Cat Lovers and A Treasury for Dog Lovers, The Gift of Age, A Tribute to Teachers, and American Trivia with Caroline McCullagh.
In 1998, he and Charles Elster became the first co-hosts of the weekly radio show, A Way with Words, produced by KPBS, San Diego Public Radio, and broadcast by multiple stations throughout the United States. In October 2006, Lederer retired from A Way with Words and was replaced by Grant Barrett. He continues broadcasting through regular guest appearances on several major market public and Clear-Channel commercial radio stations.
Lederer makes more than a hundred appearances each year, many of them benefit performances in San Diego.
Personal life
Lederer and his first wife, Rhoda, have three children: Howard Lederer and Annie Duke, both world-renowned poker players, and Katy Lederer, an author and poet.
Lederer married Simone van Egeren in 1992.
Publications
Richard Lederer has had over 50 titles published.
Books
Adventures of a Verbivore—Published by Pocket Books Crazy English—Published by Gallery Books The Miracle of Language—Published by Gallery Books A Man of My Words: Reflections on the English Language—Published by St. Martin's Press Word Wizard: Super Bloopers, Rich Reflections, and Other Acts of Word Magic, collection of essays—Published by St. Martin's Press A Treasury for Dog Lovers: Wit and Wisdom, Information and Inspiration About Man's Best Friend—Published by Howard Books A Treasury for Cat Lovers: Wit and Wisdom, Information and Inspiration About Our Feline Friends—Published by Howard Books The Gift of Age: Wit and Wisdom, Information and Inspiration for the Chronologically Endowed, and Those Who Will Be—Published by Marion Street Press A Tribute to Teachers: Wit and Wisdom, Information and Inspiration About Those Who Change Our Lives—Published by Marion Street Press Amazing Words: An Alphabetical Anthology of Alluring, Astonishing, Beguiling, Bewitching, Enchanting, Enthralling, Mesmerizing, Miraculous, Tantalizing, Tempting, and Transfixing Words—Published by Marion Street Press Lederer on Language: A Celebration of English, Good Grammar, and Wordplay, collection of essays—Published by Marion Street Press The Joy of Names—Published by Marion Street Press
Children's
Pun and Games: Jokes, Riddles, Daffynitions, Tairy Fales, Rhymes, and More Word Play for Kids—Published by Chicago Review Press The Circus of Words: Acrobatic Anagrams, Parading Palindromes, Wonderful Words on a Wire, and More Lively Letter Play—Published by Chicago Review Press Wild & Wacky Animal Jokes, co-authored with Jim Ertner—Published by Marion Street Press Super Funny Animal Jokes, co-authored with Jim Ertner—Published by Marion Street Press Cleverly Comical Animal Jokes, co-authored with Jim Ertner—Published by Marion Street Press Rip Roaring Animal Jokes, co-authored with Jim Ertner—Published by Marion Street Press Animal Cracker Uppers Jr., co-authored with Jim Ertner—Published by Marion Street Press Monsters Unchained!: Over 1,000 Drop-Dead Funny Jokes, Riddles, and Poems about Scary, Slimy, Slithery, Spooky, Slobbery Creatures—Published by Marion Street Press
Trivia
Literary Trivia: Fun and Games for Book Lovers—Published by Vintage Books Classic Literary Trivia—Published by Gibbs Smith Presidential Trivia—Published by Gibbs Smith American Trivia: What We All Should Know About U.S. History, Culture & Geography, co-authored with Caroline McCullagh—Published by Gibbs Smith American Trivia Quiz Book, co-authored with Caroline McCullagh—Published by Gibbs Smith
Puns and Jokes
The Cunning Linguist: Ribald Riddles, Lascivious Limericks, Carnal Corn, and Other Good, Clean Dirty Fun—Published by St. Martin's Press The Giant Book Of Animal Jokes: Beastly Humor For Grownups, co-authored with Jim Ertner—Published by Stone and Scott Get Thee to a Punnery: An Anthology of Intentional Assaults Upon the English Language—Published by Gibbs Smith The Ants Are My Friends: A Punderful Celebration of Song, co-authored with Stan Kegel—Published by Marion Street Press
Bloopers
Anguished English: An Anthology of Accidental Assaults Upon Our Language—Published by Bantam Doubleday Dell More Anguished English: An Exposé of Embarrassing Excruciating, and Egregious Errors in English—Published by Bantam Doubleday Dell Fractured English—Published by Gallery Books The Bride of Anguished English: A Bonanza of Bloopers, Blunders, Botches, and Boo-Boos—Published by t. Martin's Press The Revenge of Anguished English: More Accidental Assaults Upon Our Language—Published by St. Martin's Press
Holiday
Puns Spooken Here: Word Play for Halloween—Published by Gibbs Smith Have Yourself a Punny Little Christmas—Published by Gibbs Smith Hilarious Holiday Humor, co-authored with Stan Kegel—Published by Marion Street Press
Language Skills
Theme and Paragraph, co-authored with Philip Burnham—Published by Longman Publishing Group Basic Verbal Skills, co-authored with Philip Burnham—Published by Longman Publishing Group The Write Way: The S.P.E.L.L. Guide to Real-Life Writing, co-authored with Richard Dowis—Published by Pocket Books Sleeping Dogs Don't Lay: Practical Advice For The Grammatically Challenged, co-authored with Richard Dowis—Published by St. Martin's Press Comma Sense: A Fundamental Guide to Punctuation, co-authored with John Shore—Published by St. Martin's Press
Word Games
[The Play of Words—Published by Gallery Books The Word Circus—Published by Merriam-Webster The Big Book of Word Play Crosswords: 100 Unique Challenging Puzzles for Word Play Lovers, co-authored with Gayle Dean—Published by Marion Street Press Challenging Words for Smart People: Bringing Order to the English Language—Published by Marion Street Press