Mental Floss: The Curious Compendium of Wonderful Words: A Miscellany of Obscure Terms, Bizarre Phrases & Surprising Etymologies

by Erin McCarthy, the team at Mental Floss

From Mental Floss, the premier destination for curious minds, comes a deep dive into the the world of words! You’ll discover the surprising (and sometimes very dark) origins of common terms, a guide to quirky old-timey words, a timeline of popular slang, tips & tricks to win at every word game, from Scrabble to Wordle, a collection of the best literary insults, and much more!

Ever wonder if there is a synonym for the word synonym? Or why people really hate the word “moist?” Maybe you want to know why we tell a person to take something “with a grain of salt,” or why McDonalds went to war with a dictionary. From obscure words to the best literary insults ever written, this linguistic miscellany is sure to spice up your vocabulary, make you a whizz at word games, and prepare you for plenty of wordy repartee for your next soiree, with some of the most bizarre terms you never knew you needed.

A CACOPHONY OF WORDS : Learn the meaning and surprising history of hundreds of words and phrases

LOTS OF LISTS : Discover curated collections of literary insults, old-timey words, popular slang, and much more

WORD GAME WIZ : Includes tips for mastering popular word games from Scrabble to Wordle

WIT FOR WRITERS : Writers looking for just the right word will be inspired by hundreds of unusual and obscure words

REFERENCE FOR READERS : Fans of every genre, from Norse Myths to Victorian Romance will find histories, origins, and backstories of the words that make up their favorites reads

COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION : Mental The Curious Reader, Mental The Curious Movie Buff, and Mental The Curious Viewer are also available

Genres: Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

Published June 6, 2023

About the author

USA Today and New York Times Bestselling author Erin McCarthy sold her first book in 2002 and has since written over a hundred novels and novellas in teen fiction, new adult, and adult romance. Erin has a special weakness for high-heeled boots, beaches and martinis. She lives in Ohio with her family, two grumpy cats and a socially awkward dog.

Reviews

[Scott Breslove · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little “bathroom reader”, or at least that’s what I used it for. It’s broken up into short little digestible (I guess the closest word would be) “chapters” where you could read just one or as many as you like. They are full of interesting tidbits, wonderful words, obscure terms, bizarre phrases and surprising etymologies…it’s no wonder why they named the book the way they did!

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book lives up to its title. A plethora of fun information presented in a colorful, creative layout with user-friendly lists and images. Bravo! Several entries made me chortle.

[Jessica Boyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and informative read

[ella Gutt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vale.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun!!

[Paul Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love words, you will love this book. It makes vocabulary fun.