The Wonder of Whiffling - SIGNED COPIES
From the author of The Meaning of Tingo and Toujours Tingo comes The Wonder of Whiffling is a hugely enjoyable, surprising and rewarding
tour of English around the globe. Discover all sorts of words you've always wished existed but
never knew. Examples include
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
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.
The Wonder of Whiffling
Adam Jacot de Bionod
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.
Particular Books 2009
(Signed Copies Available)
ISBN 9780140515855
Hbk £12.99
The Meaning of Tingo
Adam Jacot de Boinod
Did you know that people in Indonesia have a word that means 'to take off your clothes in order to dance'? Or how many words the Albanians have for eyebrows and moustaches? Or that the Dutch word for skimming stones is plimpplamppletteren?
Drawing on the collective wisdom of over 154 languages, this intriguing book is arranged by theme so you can compare attitudes all over the world to such subjects as food, the human body and the battle of the sexes. Here you can find not only those words for which there is no direct counterpart in English (such as the Japanese age-otori which means looking less attractive after a haircut), but also a frank discussion of exactly how many 'Eskimo' terms there are for snow, and a vast array of information exploring the wonderful and often downright strange world of words. Oh, and tingo means 'to take all the objects one desires from the house of a friend, one at a time, by asking to borrow them'.
Penguin 2006
(Signed Copies Available)
ISBN 0141021985
Pbk £6.99
Toujours Tingo
Adam Jacot de Boinod
Did you know, that in Germany a young man with suspiciously good manners is called 'Tantenverfûrhrer' (literally, aunt seducer), that in Namibia there is a word for walking on tiptoe through warm sand or that, in Welsh, 'gwarlingo' is the rushing sound a grandfather clock makes before striking the hour. Whether you are 'physiggomai' (Ancient Greek - excited by eating garlic) or 'knedlikovy' (Czech - rather partial to dumplings) there are words here to charm and amuse everyone.
Drawing on the collective wisdom of over 280 languages and packed with charming illustrations, Toujours Tingo is the perfect book for anyone interested in words, language or the world around them.
Penguin 2007
(Signed Copies Available)
ISBN 9780140515862
Hbk £10.99
