Totally Weird and Wonderful Words

by Erin McKean (Editor)

Do you know what a snollygoster is? Would you eat something called a muktuk? Do you know anyone who engages in onolatry? Impress your friends and pepper your dinner party conversations with such nuggets as gobemouche, mumpsimus, and cachinnate. You can learn about all of these bizarre and beautiful words and many more in Totally Weird and Wonderful Words. Offering a potpourri of colorful and fascinating words compiled by noted lexicographer Erin McKean, it contains hundreds of definitions, and has been updated to include two new essays, with over 150 words new to this edition. Written in a clear and conversational style, the book contains full-page cartoon illustrations by Roz Chast and Danny Shanahan. Featuring hundreds of words guaranteed to amuse and astonish, this is a book that will appeal to logophiles everywhere. It also features a bibliography of Oxford's dictionaries and a guide to creating your own unusual words correctly from Greek and Latin roots.

Genres: Nonfiction, Language, Reference, Linguistics, Writing

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Krista · Rating 2 out of 5]

At first I was really interested and really liked the book but as it went on it wasn't as fun as it started out to be. When it comes down to it I was just reading a dictionary of sorts. Some of the words in the book are really fun, I'd say read the book overtime not in one go.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

peramene--so much fun--words to confuse students :0

[Nichole]

very thoughtful gift from dan and brooke :)

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful words discussed with wit, and sometimes with cartoons, because a picture is worth a thousand...

[Calli · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many words I've never heard of! Very entertaining -- for me.

[Kenn. Graiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a Word For It

But we just didn't know them until the marve!ous Erin McKean showed us what we never, or rarely knew. For word lovers, for protectors of our precious gift of language, for those who are fascinated by linguistic novelty, Ms. McKean's book is a treasure, well, beyond words. It's just fun trying to remember the ones that strike the fancy and then trying to work them unto casual conversation. Especially autoschediastically. The book will tell you what that means. Enjoy, enjoy.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Proper words in proper places, make the true definition of a style” Jonathan Swift