Publisher's Synopsis
Words You Don't Know takes the reader on a spirited romp through the dusty corridors of the English language. In 23 chapters and 208 pages, author Robin Bloor shines a light on nearly 300 of the least known words in the language, illuminating the history and mystery of each in short, humorous essays. He has reached back in time and selected of some of the most obscure and fascinating words the reader has likely never encountered: words that span the centuries, from the time of Aristotle to the time of Google; words on the verge of extinction and words being coined right now. In each of the 23 chapters, the author weaves a theme around 10 of these words. Each humorous story is unique. The reader will discover rare words, swear words, wrong words, long words, curse words, terse words, legal words, regal words, tech words, sex words, eponyms, retronyms, nonsense words and words with limericks - even words about words! The author's sharp wit, playfulness, and British charm lend each essay a special perspective that is guaranteed to both entertain and enlighten the word lover in every reader. Here's a sample: "Quickhatch is not what it sounds like-to me at any rate-that is, a chick emerging swiftly and prematurely from its egg. It's something else entirely. Hugh Jackman portrays a human quickhatch in the X-Men movies... The word derives from the American Indian word kwiihkwahaacheew. Sounds like a sneeze to me... Kalling is divination based on the variety of cabbage a blindfolded person picks out of a line-up. I promise you I am not making this up... Quomodocunquize is a word for recessionary times. It means to make money by any possible means... both immoral and amoral, but could also include ingenious means, such as making money from doing nothing more than writing about unusual words. Aischrolatry: I write this rather tentatively, but it seems obvious to me that there are some people who appreciate smut. You know as well as I do that I wouldn't have written this if I didn't recognize that some people are aischrolatrists..." So, in summary, this book is a work of linguistic archaeology and the reader is invited to come along and uncover these fascinating artifacts in the world of Words You Don't Know. Robin Bloor is an Englishman who makes his home in the U.S. He is the author of at least two blogs - HaveMacWillBlog.com and WordsYouDontKnow.com - as well as several Dummies books, published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., on the topic of computer technology. This is his first voyage into the world of words he didn't know - until now. He currently resides in Austin, Texas.
