Lot #140: 1992 Humour Book -- "The Official Politically Correct Dictionary and Handbook"

Trade Paperback. New York: Villard Books, 1992. 178 pp. "The Official Politically Correct Dictionary and Handbook" is a satirical reference work written by Henry Beard and Christopher Cerf, published in 1992 by Villard Books, an imprint of Random House. The book was released at the height of the early 1990s "culture wars" as a parody of the burgeoning movement toward social sensitivity and inclusivity. Beard (a co-founder of National Lampoon) and Cerf (a veteran of Sesame Street) compiled hundreds of "euphemisms" and "politically correct" alternatives to common English terms—such as "follicularly challenged" for bald—presenting them with mock-serious academic definitions. The narrative is noted for its dry, absurdist humor, skewering the extremes of both political correctness and the reactionary outrage against it, while providing a "handbook" of etiquette for navigating the sensitive social landscape of the 1990s. A controversial artifact of 1990s social satire and linguistic history. Dimensions: 20 cm Pickup category timeslot {A}