Product Description

The Wonder of Whiffling is a hugely enjoyable, surprising and rewarding tour of English around the globe (with fine coinages from our English-speaking cousins across the pond, Down Under and elsewhere).Discover all sorts of words you’ve always wished existed but never knew, such as fornale, to spend one’s money before it has been earned; cagg, a solemn vow or resolution not to get drunk for a certain time; and petrichor, the pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell. Delving passionately into the English language, Adam Jacot de Boinod also discovers why it is you wouldn’t want to have dinner with a vice admiral of the narrow seas, why Jacobites toasted the little gentleman in black velvet, and why a Nottingham Goodnight is better than one from anywhere else.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4555 in Books
• Published on: 2009-09-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Review
You'll never be lost for words again. Truly enlightening --MARIELLA FROSTRUP

Charming, bizarre and interesting... Help is at hand for anyone who has ever struggled to find the right word --THE INDEPENDENT

Weird and wonderful..test your knowledge of the extraordinariness of English --THE GUARDIAN

Extraordinary and intriguing examples of how English continues to be the most quirky language in the world --THE TELEGRAPH

The best wacky -- but genuine -- words in English
--THE SUN

About the Author
Adam Jacot de Boinod, hunter of perfect and obscure bon mots, is a true linguistic bowerbird (a person who collects an astonishing array of – sometimes useless – objects).He trawled the languages of the world for exotic specimens in his bestselling book The Meaning of Tingo and hit follow-up Toujours Tingo and has now turned his attention to his mother tongue in The Wonder of Whiffling.