The Dictionary Of Terrible Ideas: The very funny new book from one of The Chaser founders and author of the hilarious STRAYAN DICTIONARY and STRAYAPEDIA

by Dominic Knight

A compendium of crapulous concepts from absinthe to zorbing


From the tiniest nanoparticle to the vast span of the Large Hadron Collider, humans have invented many remarkable things. But not every idea is a winner - just ask 'Friday' singer Rebecca Black.

This wonderfully eclectic yet uniformly awful compendium traverses millennia of dreadful concepts, from homeopathy to hacky sacks, from Esperanto to Elmo and from athleisure to the Apple Vision Pro, demonstrating that alongside the magnificent march of human progress are many examples of failure, farce and outright fraud - many of which are far more hilarious than intended.

The Dictionary of Terrible Ideas reminds us that no matter how high we may soar, humans are as unreliable as a Bluetooth connection, as irritating as a self-checkout machine, and as prone to making poor decisions as Kanye West - all of which feature inside the turducken of terribleness that is this book.

Genres: Nonfiction

244 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 16, 2024

About the author

Dominic Knight was one of the founders of The Chaser satirical newspaper in 1999, and also one of its destroyers in 2004 after the group finally acknowledged that it would never turn a profit. Since then he’s worked on the team’s various projects in print, stage, radio, television and online. Most recently he wrote for ABC-TV’sThe Hamster Wheel, Yes We Canberra! and The Chaser’s War On Everything.
In recent years, Dominic has begun writing fiction in an attempt to spend less time with his Chaser compatriots. His first novel Disco Boy (2009) portrayed the career travails of a disaffected law graduate suspiciously like himself, and its successor Comrades (2010) delved into the grubby world of student politics. He’s working on a third novel, which may appear in 2013 in the unlikely event that he gets his act together. Dominic regularly appears at various writers’ festivals whether he’s invited to speak or not, and is currently on the board of the National Young Writers’ Festival.

In 2012, Dominic began hosting Evenings on ABC Local Radio in NSW and the ACT. He can be heard from 7-10pm Monday to Friday on 702 ABC Sydney, 666 ABC Canberra, 1233 ABC Newcastle and ABC stations across NSW.

Dominic has lived in Sydney nearly all of his life and plays the bass reasonably well and tennis appallingly. He is overly fond of karaoke.

Reviews

[Natalie M · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book of terrible writing about mediocre topics.

2 stars for getting halfway through, but holy moly it was a slog. I don't mind reading opinions, but it would be interesting to include some relevant facts or consider other people's perspectives as well.

Not my cup of tea! Too ego-focused.

[Nikki Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book should be titled “Dictionary of Things that Dominic Knight Hates” and left me wondering what actually brings this guy any joy. It was full of bitterness and judgement and it no way witty and informative like I was expecting.

Yeah, there were some things that I could totally agree are terrible ideas - 1 being paper straws, but really, mini golf? 🤨 many things listed for each letter just felt like he had nothing else to add and just went with it.

I was just left very annoyed and disappointed by this read.

[Samantha Oswald-Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. Just a book for this guy to get his feelings and rants out. Made me chuckle here and there though

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dominic Knight cleverly expounded terrible ideas by going through the alphabet. He was satiric and knowledgeable. Not all entries were funny but did show insight.

[Tim Goldsmith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This kind of book is usually in my wheelhouse. I love to read solid satirists bringing a fresh look at the world around them. This isn't that book though. Dom Knight just comes across as snarky, and not particularly funny. Few of the "takes" in this book are particularly novel, and often Knight's comments feel a little lazy, leaning on potshots at easy targets like Trump, or any conservatively leaning person.
The audiobook is easy enough listening, but really didn't deliver in terms of solid entertainment. If there were a rating out of 10, it'd only get a 3.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A humorous collection of "terrible ideas" which are likely to annoy many of us.


A compendium of crapulous concepts from absinthe to zorbing
From the tiniest nanoparticle to the vast span of the Large Hadron Collider, humans have invented many remarkable things. But not every idea is a winner - just ask 'Friday' singer Rebecca Black.

This wonderfully eclectic yet uniformly awful compendium traverses millennia of dreadful concepts, from homeopathy to hacky sacks, from Esperanto to Elmo and from athleisure to the Apple Vision Pro, demonstrating that alongside the magnificent march of human progress are many examples of failure, farce and outright fraud - many of which are far more hilarious than intended.

The Dictionary of Terrible Ideas reminds us that no matter how high we may soar, humans are as unreliable as a Bluetooth connection, as irritating as a self-checkout machine, and as prone to making poor decisions as Kanye West - all of which feature inside the turducken of terribleness that is this book.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure about this book, then loved it. Other than a series of 'dictionary' thoughts and ideas, it really is in fact a podcast, in alphabetical order (I listened to the audio book), a commentary about ideas over recent history that really are both somewhat terrible, slightly only good, or just plain stupid. Written with humour, whit and historical commentary, if you want a giggle, some serious thoughts about the wonders of 'invention' or just a fun, easy read, then this book is for you. Although fine for teen readers, some of the humour may be lost on them.

[Kay Parsons · Rating 1 out of 5]

The main terrible idea was mine when I picked this book off the library shelf at random. The author tries hard to be clever and witty, but frankly, I gave up after half an hour of picking various pages to read. Many of the (few) topics I chose to read were not terrible for me, so this book is subjective. Which is fair enough, the author is entitled to his own point of view, just not for me. Neither the topics nor his tedious writing style. Who knows, it might be just up your street.

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many, if not most, of the items in this collection are uncool at best and irritating at most, rather than terrible. As the author is Australian, it was inevitable that my hometown of Canberra would be included with the usual tired old 'politicians, public servants and roundabouts' tropes. That should give readers an indication of the quality of humour or research included in this publication.

[Suzie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect reading at this time of year when my brain can only deal with small grabs. Very witty and with a dry sense of humour.

[Farrells Bookshop · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny read that is perfect to pick up and put down - with little snippets of terrible ideas. Perfect for a non-reader!

Read by Suzie

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only mildly amusing. Had some nice moments.

[Shan Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a book.
It got read.
It wasn’t terrible.
The End.

[Mark Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the description of Agile!

[GaiB · Rating 2 out of 5]

Popcorn - full of hot air and somewhat lacking in flavour and substance