Cocktails & Conversation with Ben Yagoda

Feeling a bit knackered? Ready to talk about something else? Time for a drink and a good chinwag! In his new book GOBSMACKED! author (and New Rochelle native) Ben Yagoda compiles a cheeky collection of various Britishisms that have crept into the modern American lexicon, from the mundane and commonplace (“run-up,” “gone missing”) to the pretentious (why say “queue” when “line” will suffice?) and even some that are downright bonkers (“twee,” “kerfuffle”).

Come for a delightful evening of wordplay as the New Rochelle Public Library Foundation brings author Ben Yagoda back to his hometown to discuss his newest book, GOBSMACKED! The British Invasion of American English, moderated by Prof. Amy Bass, Ph.D., NRPL Foundation Board Member, historian and acclaimed author (One Goal: A Coach, A Team and the Game That Brought a Divided Town Together).

Cocktails & Conversation with Ben Yagoda will take place on December 11th at Alvin & Friends Restaurant (14 Memorial Highway, New Rochelle) from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Tickets cost $60 and include delicious nibbles and two drinks; proceeds benefit the non-profit NRPL Foundation. Tickets can be purchased on line at https://bit.ly/3UGtq8L

Tickets are also available by mail with a check payable to NRPLF sent to New Rochelle Public Library Foundation, 1 Library Plaza, New Rochelle, NY 10801. For more information visit the website at nrplfoundation.org.

Copies of Yagoda’s book will be available for sale and signing by J. Anderson’s Bookstore (96 Chatsworth Avenue, Larchmont “Gobsmacked” can be pre-ordered using this link: https://square.link/u/olGYnLub

Ben Yagoda has published more than a dozen books, including Will Rogers: A Biography; About Town: The New Yorker and the World It Made; When You Catch an Adjective, Kill It: The Parts of Speech, for Better and/or Worse; and The Sound on the Page: Style and Voice in Writing. He is professor emeritus of English at the University of Delaware. His blog, Not One-Off Britishisms, has been visited more than 3 million times.

Cocktails & Conversation is one of the NRPL Foundation’s signature events, designed to bring book lovers together. The Cocktails & Conversation series features author discussions moderated by Prof. Amy Bass, Ph.D., NRPL Foundation Board Member, historian and acclaimed author (One Goal: A Coach, A Team and the Game That Brought a Divided Town Together).