Book excerpt: Get ready for an adventure in the deep, dark jungle of language! In that jungle lurk some mighty strange creatures. Gerunds and adverbs and nouns, oh, my! But few, if any, are as remarkable as the wild verb ‘get.’ In spoken American English, this tiny, three-letter word is the magic key to another enormous language. ‘Get’ is a colloquial code to express an awesome range of actions, attitudes, emotions, intentions, and implications. Now come along on a most unusual safari into the jungle of how Americans actually talk. You’ll hear the way we talk in casual situations, not that formal stuff for public speaking, business, or writing. You’ll marvel at the agility and expressiveness of ‘get’ and soon start noticing how everybody uses it all the time. And believe you me, it really does take a whole book to define this little bitty word. Be sure and wear sensible shoes and bring something to eat and drink because it’s going to be quite a hike! Always keep a sharp eye out for treacherous ambiguities and that beastly old context! Do try to keep up with the group and stay on the trail—It’s real easy to get lost!