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Word Play
'No matter how eloquently a dog may bark, he cannot tell you that his parents were poor but honest.'
Only words can do that. Words are magic. Words are fun.
Join Gyles Brandreth - wit and word-meister, Just A Minute regular, One Show reporter, denizen of Countdown 's Dictionary Corner, founder of the National Scrabble Championships, patron of The Queen's English Society , QI, Room 101, Have I Got News For You and Pointless survivor - on an uproarious and unexpected magic carpet ride around the awesome world of words and wordplay.
Puns, palindromes, pangrams, M alaprops, euphemisms, mnemonics, acronyms, anagrams, alphabeticals, Tweets, verbiage, verbarrhea - if you can name it, you should find it here, along with the longest, shortest, wittiest, wildest, oldest, latest, oddest, most interesting and most memorable words in the English language - the richest, most remarkable language ever known.
Only words can do that. Words are magic. Words are fun.
Join Gyles Brandreth - wit and word-meister, Just A Minute regular, One Show reporter, denizen of Countdown 's Dictionary Corner, founder of the National Scrabble Championships, patron of The Queen's English Society , QI, Room 101, Have I Got News For You and Pointless survivor - on an uproarious and unexpected magic carpet ride around the awesome world of words and wordplay.
Puns, palindromes, pangrams, M alaprops, euphemisms, mnemonics, acronyms, anagrams, alphabeticals, Tweets, verbiage, verbarrhea - if you can name it, you should find it here, along with the longest, shortest, wittiest, wildest, oldest, latest, oddest, most interesting and most memorable words in the English language - the richest, most remarkable language ever known.
365 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1982
About the author
Gyles Brandreth
468 books418 followersFull name: Gyles Daubeney Brandreth.
A former Oxford Scholar, President of the Oxford Union and MP for the City of Chester, Gyles Brandreth’s career has ranged from being a Whip and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in John Major’s government to starring in his own award-winning musical revue in London’s West End. A prolific broadcaster (in programmes ranging from Just a Minute to Have I Got News for You), an acclaimed interviewer (principally for the Sunday Telegraph), a novelist, children’s author and biographer, his best-selling diary, Breaking the Code, was described as ‘By far the best political diary of recent years, far more perceptive and revealing than Alan Clark’s’ (The Times) and ‘Searingly honest, wildly indiscreet, and incredibly funny’ (Daily Mail). He is the author of two acclaimed royal biographies: Philip Elizabeth: Portrait of a Marriage and Charles Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair. In 2007/2008, John Murray in the UK and Simon & Schuster in the US began publishing The Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries, his series of Victorian murder mysteries featuring Oscar Wilde as the detective.
As a performer, Gyles Brandreth has been seen most recently in ZIPP! ONE HUNDRED MUSICALS FOR LESS THAN THE PRICE OF ONE at the Duchess Theatre and on tour throughout the UK, and as Malvolio and the Sea Captain in TWELFTH NIGHT THE MUSICAL at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Gyles Brandreth is one of Britain’s busiest after-dinner speakers and award ceremony hosts. He has won awards himself, and been nominated for awards, as a public speaker, novelist, children’s writer, broadcaster (Sony), political diarist (Channel Four), journalist (British Press Awards), theatre producer (Olivier), and businessman (British Tourist Authority Come to Britain Trophy).
He is married to writer and publisher Michèle Brown, with whom he co-curated the exhibition of twentieth century children’s authors at the National Portrait Gallery and founded the award-winning Teddy Bear Museum now based at the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon. He is a trustee of the British Forces Foundation, and a former chairman and now vice-president of the National Playing Fields Association.
Gyles Brandreth’s forebears include George R. Sims (the highest-paid journalist of his day, who wrote the ballad Christmas Day in the Workhouse) and Jeremiah Brandreth (the last man in England to be beheaded for treason). His great-great-grandfather, Benjamin Brandreth, promoted ‘Brandreth’s Pills’ (a medicine that cured everything!) and was a pioneer of modern advertising and a New York state senator. Today, Gyles Brandreth has family living in New York, Maryland, South Carolina and California. He has been London correspondent for “Up to the Minute” on CBS News and his books published in the United States include the New York Times best-seller, The Joy of Lex and, most recently, Philip Elizabeth: Portrait of a Royal Marriage.
A former Oxford Scholar, President of the Oxford Union and MP for the City of Chester, Gyles Brandreth’s career has ranged from being a Whip and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in John Major’s government to starring in his own award-winning musical revue in London’s West End. A prolific broadcaster (in programmes ranging from Just a Minute to Have I Got News for You), an acclaimed interviewer (principally for the Sunday Telegraph), a novelist, children’s author and biographer, his best-selling diary, Breaking the Code, was described as ‘By far the best political diary of recent years, far more perceptive and revealing than Alan Clark’s’ (The Times) and ‘Searingly honest, wildly indiscreet, and incredibly funny’ (Daily Mail). He is the author of two acclaimed royal biographies: Philip Elizabeth: Portrait of a Marriage and Charles Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair. In 2007/2008, John Murray in the UK and Simon & Schuster in the US began publishing The Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries, his series of Victorian murder mysteries featuring Oscar Wilde as the detective.
As a performer, Gyles Brandreth has been seen most recently in ZIPP! ONE HUNDRED MUSICALS FOR LESS THAN THE PRICE OF ONE at the Duchess Theatre and on tour throughout the UK, and as Malvolio and the Sea Captain in TWELFTH NIGHT THE MUSICAL at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Gyles Brandreth is one of Britain’s busiest after-dinner speakers and award ceremony hosts. He has won awards himself, and been nominated for awards, as a public speaker, novelist, children’s writer, broadcaster (Sony), political diarist (Channel Four), journalist (British Press Awards), theatre producer (Olivier), and businessman (British Tourist Authority Come to Britain Trophy).
He is married to writer and publisher Michèle Brown, with whom he co-curated the exhibition of twentieth century children’s authors at the National Portrait Gallery and founded the award-winning Teddy Bear Museum now based at the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon. He is a trustee of the British Forces Foundation, and a former chairman and now vice-president of the National Playing Fields Association.
Gyles Brandreth’s forebears include George R. Sims (the highest-paid journalist of his day, who wrote the ballad Christmas Day in the Workhouse) and Jeremiah Brandreth (the last man in England to be beheaded for treason). His great-great-grandfather, Benjamin Brandreth, promoted ‘Brandreth’s Pills’ (a medicine that cured everything!) and was a pioneer of modern advertising and a New York state senator. Today, Gyles Brandreth has family living in New York, Maryland, South Carolina and California. He has been London correspondent for “Up to the Minute” on CBS News and his books published in the United States include the New York Times best-seller, The Joy of Lex and, most recently, Philip Elizabeth: Portrait of a Royal Marriage.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 16, 2017
Gyles is a delight. (I love him on The One Show and Countdown Corner) This book is wonderful and great recommendation for anyone who loves english language, grammar and spelling. He is a wealth of information.
It was a little bit too long, he could of easily stopped after going through the alphabet once.
It was a little bit too long, he could of easily stopped after going through the alphabet once.
May 21, 2020
A journey through the weird and wonderfully rich English language by Gyles Brandreth. Very interesting and funny. A book that you can dip in and out of or read from cover to cover, whichever you do I’m sure you’ll find something of interest.
March 24, 2023
A fantastic and interesting read.
Read
August 4, 2019I think it's time to DNF this one. Hoped it would give me some interesting insights in the English language to apply to future literary endeavours, but I feel like I just wasn't the targeted audience here as it references so much of British television etc and I just couldn't relate. After actually reading the first 50 pages, I mostly just leafed through it. Contains some interesting tidbits here and there, but not enough to keep me as a non-British reader engaged. Thus, no rating. Too bad!
January 5, 2019
Full disclosure: this book was written for people like me. That being, probably precocious sorts who were likely once equally probably precocious children who liked reading better than socialising with a fair chunk of their peers, and for whom the fascination led to 13 years of schooling and a very expensive piece of paper. Additionally, this book has a particular eye out for the sub-set of these individuals who enjoyed learning, memorising, and spouting facts about not only what they were reading, but the words those things were written with.
However, absolutely none of the above is meant with any aspersion; I rather enjoy being one of these people, and it's very nice to know that Mr Brandreth is one of us, and liked being one of us so much he wrote us an entire book. A book I, to the surprise of no one, rather like.
I would definitely recommend reading the Introduction, as it's here that Brandreth outlines the core conceit of the book - that being, a sort of semi-chronological-cum-thematic chapters and sections exploring the myriad joys, confusion and general baffling nuttiness of the English language. Without reading that, Word Play might seem like just that, someone playing with words, with no particular aim or idea or purpose beyond selling a book with a punny title. With it, however, you not only understand the logic of the project, but also get a bucket full of warm fuzzies to carry with you as you read, with Brandreth's enthusiasm for your shared interest creating a happy sort of author-reader fellowship as you dig into the delicious wordy madness within.
Word Play doesn't need to be read end to end, either, which is also a point in its favour; the reader can hop to whichever chapter or section or idea is the most interesting at the time, and pop back to look at the others whenever they fancy, as long as the book's central idea (see above, and the introduction) is understood.
Personally, I loved it. But of course I did. However, if you're the sort who enjoys terrorising your office-mates over the weekly pub quiz and exacts small vengeance against snotty letters from your least favourite relatives by filling your replies with words you know they won't understand, you might find you like it too.
However, absolutely none of the above is meant with any aspersion; I rather enjoy being one of these people, and it's very nice to know that Mr Brandreth is one of us, and liked being one of us so much he wrote us an entire book. A book I, to the surprise of no one, rather like.
I would definitely recommend reading the Introduction, as it's here that Brandreth outlines the core conceit of the book - that being, a sort of semi-chronological-cum-thematic chapters and sections exploring the myriad joys, confusion and general baffling nuttiness of the English language. Without reading that, Word Play might seem like just that, someone playing with words, with no particular aim or idea or purpose beyond selling a book with a punny title. With it, however, you not only understand the logic of the project, but also get a bucket full of warm fuzzies to carry with you as you read, with Brandreth's enthusiasm for your shared interest creating a happy sort of author-reader fellowship as you dig into the delicious wordy madness within.
Word Play doesn't need to be read end to end, either, which is also a point in its favour; the reader can hop to whichever chapter or section or idea is the most interesting at the time, and pop back to look at the others whenever they fancy, as long as the book's central idea (see above, and the introduction) is understood.
Personally, I loved it. But of course I did. However, if you're the sort who enjoys terrorising your office-mates over the weekly pub quiz and exacts small vengeance against snotty letters from your least favourite relatives by filling your replies with words you know they won't understand, you might find you like it too.
March 21, 2020
Gyles Brandreth would be an excellent and engaging dinner guest. Even if he'd never let you get past the starter (or appetizer). This book is a smorgasbord of information, at times enlightening - I had never heard of a lipogram, a logogram, a metagram... - but it can be exhausting. The chapter on tongue twisters, for example, is heavy and just far too much effort to plough through, which I grant you is probably the intention of that chapter.
The book is set up in A to Z fashion, and I agree with the reviewer who said one set of A to Zs would have sufficed, rather than Mr Brandreth also then taking us "back through to A from Z". It is nice that he is so enthusiastic about telling us so many things, but in most cases I think three or four examples of something would be more useful, and less draining, than 47 examples. The lists and lists just get, well, overnumerous, but make sure to check page 231 for a great factoid on the word "overnumerousnesses". Readability does suffer in places.
That said, it is a fun book if read in instalments; it is very much a book to dive in and out of, marking quirky things to remember for later, rather than work through from cover to cover. And there are some real treasures in here. Mr Brandreth is a fine host, guiding us through the rich and malleable jungle that is the English language, a language of options and quirks more than fixed rules (and there's an interesting chapter on precisely how often the "I before E, except after C" rule is broken - it's often breached twice in one word, as with "proficiencies"!). There's also some funny material on mixing metaphors ("we now have 137 and a half pairs of surgical boots on our hands"; "they've put all their eggs in one basket and it's misfired"), a gem of a chapter (now I'm getting on board with metaphors...) on the history of the word "OK" and a hilarious one on infamous publisher rejection letters. Overall, stick with it. Just when you start to tire from the detail, Mr Brandreth will haul you back in with a classic piece on euphemisms or collectives. It's worth having on your shelf.
The book is set up in A to Z fashion, and I agree with the reviewer who said one set of A to Zs would have sufficed, rather than Mr Brandreth also then taking us "back through to A from Z". It is nice that he is so enthusiastic about telling us so many things, but in most cases I think three or four examples of something would be more useful, and less draining, than 47 examples. The lists and lists just get, well, overnumerous, but make sure to check page 231 for a great factoid on the word "overnumerousnesses". Readability does suffer in places.
That said, it is a fun book if read in instalments; it is very much a book to dive in and out of, marking quirky things to remember for later, rather than work through from cover to cover. And there are some real treasures in here. Mr Brandreth is a fine host, guiding us through the rich and malleable jungle that is the English language, a language of options and quirks more than fixed rules (and there's an interesting chapter on precisely how often the "I before E, except after C" rule is broken - it's often breached twice in one word, as with "proficiencies"!). There's also some funny material on mixing metaphors ("we now have 137 and a half pairs of surgical boots on our hands"; "they've put all their eggs in one basket and it's misfired"), a gem of a chapter (now I'm getting on board with metaphors...) on the history of the word "OK" and a hilarious one on infamous publisher rejection letters. Overall, stick with it. Just when you start to tire from the detail, Mr Brandreth will haul you back in with a classic piece on euphemisms or collectives. It's worth having on your shelf.
February 18, 2019
Full of great games and fascinating facts, and with the stellar wit you expect from Brandreth. I take those points in other reviews about only one go of the alphabet being needed, and it can be a bit technical, but it's also really brilliant and useful in places. Loved the ending too!
October 23, 2021
I've enjoyed dipping into Wordplay. It can be a little dry at times, and the author has a tendency towards condescension, but there are plenty of interesting facts and some highly entertaining sections.
May 22, 2017
Put it in the smallest room.
August 25, 2019
Plenty of fascinating word trivia.
February 21, 2022
“No noose is good news” got me laughing for the whole sunday evening. Good book!
February 20, 2024
A great book for those who love to explore words and their meanings. Great collection
May 29, 2025
Not exactly what I was expecting, but interesting. Some very funny word plays, some very verbose and dull. NPL
December 11, 2025
I listened to this on Audible, and while I greatly enjoyed the author's delivery I wondered if this was abridged because it seemed rather short.
October 9, 2016
A delight and must have in every collection . Brilliant compilation and tribute to English language !
February 3, 2017
Having read this book, I can not recommend it enough for people interested in language and words and Giles Brandreth does, indeed, have many fascinating chapters here e.g.on the most used words in English, on words introduced by Chaucer, Shakespeare etc, on rhyming slang, on puns, collections,like flock of sheep, murder of ravens, but some of his chapters I just found too technical, even for me, hence the 4, not 5, stars.
I still intend to buy a book in print as the Kindle, to me, is not so easy to look up and mark!
I still intend to buy a book in print as the Kindle, to me, is not so easy to look up and mark!
Read
January 14, 2016Enjoyed this - bits of it were laugh out loud. Reading it in bed meant I didn't do all the actual word play, but there was plenty of info and quotes to keep me going.
February 7, 2016
Educational, interesting and entertaining
February 27, 2016
Starts off well, but by the time I got half-way through I felt Gyles was running out of topics and could have stopped rather than going through the alphabet again.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews