People who are fed up (hasta la madre--up to the mother) with classroom Spanish will enjoy this A-to-Z thematic arrangement of more than 5,000 colorful terms and slang expressions from across the Spanish-speaking world. Streetwise Spanish Dictionary/Thesaurus includes numerous examples, quizzes, humorous illustrations, cultural information, and help with usage. How good is that? (Que Padre!--What a father).

Pictures and humor help readers build their Spanish language skills

To its millions of fans, the Pattersons are just like their own families, facing universal issues among daily concerns. Containing a selection of 100 syndicated Spanish-language versions of the strip that is widely read in Latin America, Laugh n Learn Spanish provides an entertaining and effective way to expand and polish conversational skills in Spanish.

Readers learn by understanding and learning natural, everyday verbal interactions at home and about town, following John and Ell Patterson as they attempt to come to terms with middle age; daughter Elizabeth as she spreads her wings and goes off to college; son Michael dating and then marrying his childhood sweetheart, Deanna; daughter April as she rebels against discipline, anther grandpa who finds a second love in the autumn of his life. Each strip is graded by difficulty--Beginning, Moderate, or Challenging--and is accompanied by:

• Glosses that translate difficult vocabulary
  
• Usage notes to build proficiency
  
• A summarizing activity that tests comprehension
  
• Additional exercises for key idioms and word patterns appear at the end of each section
  

Don't sound like "una momia"--add a little sizzle to your Spanish .

If someone called you "tragaldabas" would you be insulted or flattered? If you shouted "Mota " in the street, would you expected to get a cab or get arrested? Thanks to "The Red-Hot Book of Spanish Slang and Idioms," you'll always know your "tejemaneje" (scheme) from your "merequetengue" (mess) no matter where you find yourself in the Spanish-speaking world. Five thousand words and phrases--plus helpful hints as to what's cordial and what's vulgar--keep you in sync with Spanish slang.. . .

Spanish to English.

"nios popis (upper-class kids)" Spoiled brats
. "Contigo ni a China me voy. (I'm not even going to China with you)" You're impossible
. "La cruda (rawness)" Hangover.

English to Spanish. Ugly as sin "ser un espantapjaro (to be a scarecrow)"
. To be lucky "tener leche (to have milk)"
. Why are you staring at me? "Tengo monos en la cara? (Do I have monkeys on my face?)"

EN CONTACTO: GRAMÁTICA EN ACCIÓN Enhanced Ninth Edition is designed to put intermediate Spanish students in touch with contemporary Hispanic culture through its language and literature. The program stresses communication and, when used with the LECTURAS INTERMEDIAS volume, emphasizes the acquisition of reading skills and text comprehension.