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Grace Tierney

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Born
in Ireland
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January 2014

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Grace Tierney writes in rural Ireland. Her award winning Wordfoolery blog about unusual English words has been running for 17 years exploring everything from “pooka” to “friggatriskaidekaphobia”.

Grace has serialised three novels on the online reading platform Channillo and published six word history books (print & ebook) - "Words the Weather Gave Us" (Nov 2026), "Words Christmas Gave Us", "Words the Vikings Gave Us", "Words the Sea Gave Us", “How To Get Your Name In The Dictionary”, "Modern Words with Old Roots". She’s an etymology blogger, regular radio contributor, and publishes articles and short fiction. When not writing you’ll find her reading, crafting, or hiking up a hill.

Grace’s favourite eponymous hero is Casanova because his swas
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Grace Tierney Positive feedback from a reader. My favourite version of that is reading my work aloud and hearing people laugh, at the right places.
Grace Tierney Writing is the best way to learn about writing. Workshops and writing groups help, but writing (and submitting!) is the only way to improve. If you're…moreWriting is the best way to learn about writing. Workshops and writing groups help, but writing (and submitting!) is the only way to improve. If you're keen to write a novel - try www.nanowrimo.org - commit a month to your writing. I do it every year and the community is great.(less)
Average rating: 4.5 · 14 ratings · 6 reviews · 6 distinct works
Words Christmas Gave Us (Wo...

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — 3 editions
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Words The Vikings Gave Us (...

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — 2 editions
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How To Get Your Name In The...

4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — 2 editions
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Modern Words with Old Roots

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
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Words the Weather Gave Us (...

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions
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Words The Sea Gave Us (Word...

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2020 — 2 editions
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The Multilingual Roots of the Ouija Board

Hello,

Today’s word, ouija, is a registered trademark owned by Hasbro, Inc. I recently wrote about trademarks which have become generic terms such as butterscotch and , but this brand name, which dates back to 1890, is still in force. The original owners were the Kennard Novelty Company of Baltimore.

I’ve never used one, but the idea is simple and there’s a good chance you’ve seen one in a horro

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Published on October 20, 2026 05:18
The Book of Gold
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by Ruth Frances Long (Goodreads Author)
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The Daughter of Time
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Gallivanting With...
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Grace’s Recent Updates

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Camp Half-Blood Confidential by Rick Riordan
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A fun companion book to the Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan. Best if you’ve read the first two series. A quick read.
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The Zorg by Siddharth Kara
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Great research, interesting story. Slightly let down by the marketing of this linking it to The Wager which was far more a nautical story. Here the voyage doesn’t start until the halfway point and only lasts 50 pages. However I’m glad I stuck with it ...more
Grace Tierney is currently reading
The Book of Gold by Ruth Frances Long
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Grace Tierney is currently reading
Camp Half-Blood Confidential by Rick Riordan
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Magic, Maps, and Mischief by David                  Green
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Utopia Avenue by David  Mitchell
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An engaging story of a late 1960s band. Formed from a slightly mismatched four musicians they reach the top, encountering Bowie and others along the way. A charming read but elements of the ending didn’t work for me.
Grace Tierney is currently reading
The Zorg by Siddharth Kara
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A Plague of Heretics by Bernard Knight
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Picked this up without reading the earlier books in the series but it worked without prior knowledge. Well researched and believable historical details plus a strong plot of murders for this medieval coroner to solve. Good secondary characters too. I ...more
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Something Blue by Liz Hedgecock
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This time Sherlock, and Mycroft, help Jack/Jacinth to find her birth family. Twins separated at birth is a plot device I don’t admire but it’s well done here. I’ll be watching for more in this series.
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A Jar of Thursday by Liz Hedgecock
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A fun Sherlock tale with the addition of a time travelling thief
More of Grace's books…
Kate Atkinson
“Fine,’ she said, using the universal Scottish word for every state of being from ‘I’m dying in anguish’ to ‘I’m experiencing euphoric joy.’ ‘Fine,’ she said. ‘I’m fine.”
― Kate Atkinson, When Will There Be Good News?

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