A collection of essays on the everyday workings of language and how language shapes our social and political existence.

Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
1. Malediction 9
2. "What I Want Back Is What I Was": Consolation's Retrospect 29
3. The Right to be Lonely 49
4. Why WHYs and why mes 59
5. Linguistic Inhibition as a Cause of Pregnancy 71
6. "Lying" When You Aren't 85
7. All Mouth and No Trousers: Linguistic Embarrassments 97
8. "But Then I Wouldn't Be Here" 105
9. Your Name Which Isn't Yours 115
Notes 129