Synopses & Reviews
Do you know why…
…a mortgage is literally a death pledge? …why guns have girls’ names? …why salt is related to soldier?
You’re about to find out…
The Etymologicon (e-t?-‘mä-lä-ji-kän) is:
*Witty (wi-te\): Full of clever humor*Erudite (er-?-dit): Showing knowledge*Ribald (ri-b?ld): Crude, offensive
The Etymologicon is a completely unauthorized guide to the strange underpinnings of the English language. It explains: how you get from “gruntled” to “disgruntled”; why you are absolutely right to believe that your meager salary barely covers “money for salt”; how the biggest chain of coffee shops in the world (hint: Seattle) connects to whaling in Nantucket; and what precisely the Rolling Stones have to do with gardening.
Review
“The stocking filler of the season...how else to describe a book that explains the connection between Dom Perignon and
Mein Kampf.”--
The Observer
“Crikey...this is addictive!”--The Times
“Mark Forsyth is clearly a man who knows his onions.”--Daily Telegraph
Review
Praise for Etymologicon
“The Facebook of books…Before you know it, youve been reading for an hour.”—The Chicago Tribune
“A breezy, amusing stroll through the uncommon histories of some common English words…Snack-food style blends with health-food substance for a most satisfying meal.”—Kirkus Reviews
“The stocking filler of the season...How else to describe a book that explains the connection between Dom Perignon and Mein Kampf.”—Robert McCrum, The Observer
“Crikey...this is addictive!”—The Times
“Mark Forsyth is clearly a man who knows his onions.”—Daily Telegraph
“Delightful…Witty and erudite and stuffed with the kind of arcane information that nobody strictly needs to know, but which is a pleasure to learn nonetheless.”—The Independent (UK)
“Witty and well researched…Who wouldnt want to read about the derivation of the word ‘gormless? Or the relationship between the words ‘buffalo and ‘buff?”—The Guardian (UK)
Review
Praise for The Horologicon “This is not a book to be gulped down at a sitting, but gently masticated to be savored in small bites…[Forsyths] irreverent commentary on the history of the terms and when to use them is worth reading…Every page contains a new jewel for logophiles and verbivores everywhere.”—Publishers Weekly
“Forsyths fascinating entries employ erudite humor and playful historical anecdotes to make these dusty old words sound fresh again. In doing so, he succeeds in creating a book to be not just browsed but absorbed. Get ready to be impressed and entertained.”—Library Journal
Praise for The Etymologicon
“The Facebook of books…Before you know it, youve been reading for an hour.”—The Chicago Tribune
“A breezy, amusing stroll through the uncommon histories of some common English words…Snack-food style blends with health-food substance for a most satisfying meal.”—Kirkus Reviews
“The stocking filler of the season...How else to describe a book that explains the connection between Dom Perignon and Mein Kampf.”—Robert McCrum, The Observer
Synopsis
Do you wake up feeling rough? Then youre philogrobolized.
Find yourself pretending to work? Thats fudgelling.
And this could lead to rizzling, if you feel sleepy after lunch. Though you are sure to become a sparkling deipnosopbist by dinner. Just dont get too vinomadefied; a drunk dinner companion is never appreciated.
The Horologicon (or book of hours) contains the most extraordinary words in the English language, arranged according to what hour of the day you might need them. From Mark Forsyth, the author of the #1 international bestseller, The Etymologicon, comes a book of weird words for familiar situations. From ante-jentacular to snudge by way of quafftide and wamblecropt, at last you can say, with utter accuracy, exactly what you mean.
Synopsis
From classic poetry to pop lyrics, from Charles Dickens to Dolly Parton, even from Jesus to James Bond, Mark Forsyth explains the secrets that make a phrasesuch as O Captain! My Captain!” or To be or not to be”memorable.
In his inimitably entertaining and wonderfully witty style, he takes apart famous phrases and shows how you too can write like Shakespeare or quip like Oscar Wilde. Whether youre aiming to achieve literary immortality or just hoping to deliver the perfect one-liner, The Elements of Eloquence proves that you dont need to have anything important to sayyou simply need to say it well.
In an age unhealthily obsessed with the power of substance, this is a book that highlights the importance of style.
About the Author
Mark Forsyth, author of The Horologicon and The Etymologicon, was given a copy of The Oxford English Dictionary as a christening present and has never looked back. He is the creator of The Inky Fool, a blog about words, phrases, grammar, rhetoric, and prose. He has contributed to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Huffington Post. He lives in the UK.