Gillard, Joe "The Little Book of Lost Words. Collywobbles, Snollygosters, and 86 Other Surprisingly Useful Terms Worth Resurrecting" - 2019
I found this book through Lisa's blog Captivated Reader (here). The title was so amusing, I just had to have a look.
And the title keeps what it promises. There are lots of forgotten words, or words you never knew. Some of my favourites are "betweenity" (being in the middle, or between two things), "namelings" (people who possess the same name), "slugabed" (a person who sleeps in later than is appropriate) and "ultracrepidarian" (a person with opinions on subjects beyond their knowledge). Arnet' they all fantastic?
I wasn't too keen on the pictures, even though they stem from some famous classic artists. But I didn't buy the book for the pictures.
A great book for any lover of words. Thank you, Lisa.
From the back cover:
"The founder of History Hustle presents a handy guide for expressing yourself with history's best words.
This collection features scores of unique words from history that deal with surprisingly modern issues like sleeping in and procrastination - proving that some things never change! The Little Book of Lost Words presents each term that's ready to be brought back into modern-day use, complete with definition, hilarious sample sentence, and cheeky historical art. You'll learn new words for the cozy room where you like to Netflix and chill (snuggery), for a dishonest politician (snollygoster), and for a young person who sleeps through the day and doesn't work (dewdropper). If you like Lost in Translation, Shakespeare Insult Generator, Drunk History, and Roald Dahl - and you delight in the way words like blatteroon and flapdoodle roll off the tongue - then you're the word lover this book was written for. Want to know what a fizgig or groke is? Read this book!"
Excellent. I do LOVE books like this. My mother uses 'slugabed' and I'm fond of 'Collywobbles' myself. Language is SO rich if you spend the time searching out words like this. So many 'old' words that need reviving!! [grin]
ReplyDeleteI had never heard most of the words, Kitten, but English is not my mother tongue. Still, it probably means that they really are not very popular anymore (or have never been because, as you know, I do love classics).
DeleteI'm a slugabed in the middle of the afternoon, my siesta time.
ReplyDelete"Slugabed" is THE word for me, Harvee, especially since we are retired. LOL
DeleteI need to get this book! I love words, especially ones no one uses any more but that are still so fun to say, like betweenity! ;D
ReplyDeleteIt is a lot of fun, Lark. I like this kind of book anyway and all these unkown words are just hilarious.
DeleteThose forgotten words are delightful but do people really want to use them? But the idea of the book does sound interesting. Now if these words are all used in a long story, it might have been more fun than random sentences.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day
Mmmh, yes, that is an idea, Lissa. Mybe someone will write such a book one day ...
DeleteI love your book review of "The Little Book of Lost Words. Collywobbles, Snollygosters, and 86 Other Surprisingly Useful Terms Worth Resurrecting". Thank you for the shout out of my book blog. Happy reading!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for introducing it to me, Lisa. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And I promised I'd let you know.
DeleteWonderful book. I would probably not understand most of them, but it is a good way to keep them.
ReplyDeleteWell, they explain every single word, Lisbeth, so even us foreigners can see where they come from. You can have a look when you visit the next time.
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