Phrased & Confused
About
I think therefore I am. A rose is a rose is a rose. In the beginning was the Word . . . Huh? Meet Phrased and Confused, a guide to the quotations that baffle, bewilder, and bemuse. From philosophical head-scratchers like The medium is the message to literary merry-go-rounds like Beauty is truth, truth beauty, this mind-expanding book will leave readers with a more solid grasp of these famously slippery statements—and a deeper appreciation of the big ideas they stand for. Pairing witty commentary with lighthearted illustration, it’s the ideal resource for lovers of language, literature, history, and philosophy, full of intelligence and insight for curious minds everywhere.
“This book is more than a delightful romp; it’s a liberal education. I devoured it voraciously . . . Burnstein makes big ideas swing on the page.” —Jim Holt, author of Why Does the World Exist?
“A superbly acute and enjoyable cracking of important nutshells.” —Anthony Gottlieb, author of Ludwig Wittgenstein: Philosophy in the Age of Airplanes and former executive editor of The Economist
Praise for Phrased & Confused
“I think it’s brilliant, revelatory, and erudite. Like all the best books it lets you see the familiar world in a new way. All the rich subtleties that have been stripped away from great phrases and carefully reattached.” —Mark Forsyth, author of The Etymologicon and A Short History of Drunkenness
“An enjoyable corrective to the clichéd interpretation of clichés, enlightening because Burnstein does not just debunk but explains their contexts and nuances of interpretation.” —Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Sense of Style
“Phrased & Confused is a dazzling tour of the world’s most quoted—and most mangled—lines. From ‘I think therefore I am’ to ‘Seize the day,’ it brilliantly restores each phrase to its original depth and surprise, revealing just how much power a few words can hold. Paired with Liana Finck’s exquisite, witty illustrations, this book is an irresistible celebration of language, insight, and the pleasure of finally understanding what we thought we already knew.” —Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, author of The Mattering Instinct and The Mind-Body Problem
“Like Burnstein’s Dictionary of Fine Distinctions, Phrased and Confused is erudite fun for the curious and the literate. With clarity, inventiveness, precision—and, in Liana Finck’s illustrations, dashes of whimsy—Phrased and Confused illuminates and entertains. A book to share and graze on.” —William Deresiewicz, author of Excellent Sheep and The End of Solitude
“Who knew that Well-behaved women seldom make history began in a scholarly article on Puritan funeral sermons—and meant something quite different at the time? Smart, witty, and charmingly illustrated, Phrased and Confused reveals the surprising stories behind familiar expressions like You are what you eat and The medium is the message, showing where they came from and why they matter today—a treat for anyone curious about why we say the things we do.” —Martha Barnette, author of Friends with Words and co-host of A Way with Words
“A superbly acute and enjoyable cracking of important nutshells.” —Anthony Gottlieb, author of Ludwig Wittgenstein: Philosophy in the Age of Airplanes and former executive editor of The Economist
“This book is more than a delightful romp; it’s a liberal education. I devoured it voraciously—pondering, laughing, and marveling at how smugly wrong I’ve been all these years about the true meaning of so many oft-bandied quotations. Burnstein makes big ideas swing on the page. And he’ll help you win a lot of bar bets on Harvard Square.” —Jim Holt, author of Why Does the World Exist?