Felicity Huffman is not a relationship expert, nor does she play one on TV. But that's her name on the cover of "A Practical Handbook for the Boyfriend," a cheeky mating manual now in bookstores.

Huffman, the Emmy-winning "Desperate Housewives" star, wrote the book with her best friend, Patricia Wolff. Huffman and Wolff are aware that men don't usually buy that kind of book. They also know that a celebrity author has a much better chance of being interviewed on "Good Morning America" or "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

Were it not for the celebrity connection, the male predisposition to avoid helpful advice (see "directions, asking for") might have spelled commercial disaster for "A Practical Handbook for the Boyfriend." Yet there was a publishing precedent for having one sex translate the secret language of the other. "He's Just Not That Into You," by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, was a runaway hit in 2004. That book had its own pop culture cred — its authors were alumni of the "Sex and the City" writers' room.

"Any group of girlfriends who wonder why men don't get it could have written their own book," Wolff said, "and it would have been a little different from ours. Our approach was that men and women together are funny. If it's not tragic, it's hilarious."

EXPERTS? NOT REALLY

For skeptics who wonder what qualifies them as authorities, the authors begin by admitting that they might not know much, but they do understand how women think. And that's more than most men can claim.

"We started writing the book because we wanted it to help guys figure women out," Huffman said. "We weren't presenting ourselves as experts. The book is a little bit of advice and a lot of funny. We thought women would read the book, and hopefully they'll give it to their guys."

Brenda Copeland did. The executive editor of Hyperion Books gave a copy to her brother. "He's newly single," Copeland said, "and he hasn't a clue."

"There are a lot of straight dating books out there that say 'Do this and do that,' " Copeland said. "We liked Felicity and Patti's book because it works the other way around. They say, 'Here's what women do in a relationship, and here's why.' " In other words, here's what's actually on a woman's mind when she asks her boyfriend whether she looks fat.

The inspiration for "A Practical Handbook for the Boyfriend" was a 20-year-old textbook on acting written by members of the Atlantic Theater Company. Through the years, Huffman and Wolff, who were founding members of the group, would sometimes wish for "A Practical Guide to Accessorizing," or note that "A Practical Guide for the Plumber" would be useful. When they drifted into the sort of dangling conversations about the mysteries of dating that are central to most female friendships, the need for a primer for the boyfriend became clear.

They decided to commit what had long been their private running joke to paper in 2001 when Wolff, a producer, was out of work and Huffman, who is married to actor William H. Macy, had given birth to their first child.

IT'S WORTH THE EFFORT

While it might have been tempting to include a digression on the mystic connection between men and their cars, the collaborators repeatedly forced themselves to return to their core idea. "We had to keep reminding ourselves that it's for the boyfriend," Huffman said. "For the boyfriend. It wasn't meant to be an expose of our crazy food issues."

It's worth the effort for a guy to be a good boyfriend, they point out, because women who are treated well by men and feel kindly toward them tend to want to have sex with them. "Guys like the house cold," they wrote. "Girls like it warm. Keep the thermostat up, and you'll have a better chance of seeing her naked."