More Weird and Wonderful Words [Hardcover]

Erin McKean (Editor), Danny Shanahan (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2, 2003

Wouldn't you like to use proctomorph in your everyday conversation--or at least feel as if you could? How about singerie? Or rememble?
Following the smash hit Weird and Wonderful Words, editor Erin McKean has dug deeper into forgotten corners of the dictionary gathering both the most spectacular old and the most impressive new words. The result is more than four hundred prime specimens (with pronunciations!), defined in a conversational style and perfect for adding to your own collection of favorites.
Guaranteed to amuse and astonish, accompanied by full-page illustrations by New Yorker cartoonist Danny Shanahan, these words will appeal to logophiles everywhere. In addition to its wonderful offerings, the book also features a guide to finding new words, a guide to the best word websites, and an annotated bibliography of essential Oxford dictionaries.
More Weird and Wonderful Words:
anopisthograph: something that has writing on only one side (usually paper, although you could pedantically use this for things like t-shirts or billboards). Anopisthography is the practice of writing on only one side of something, a policy disdained by those who know how to make that 1-to-2 button on the copy machine work. (Opisthography is the practice of writing on both sides.) (from Greek words that mean "written on the back or cover.")

mesonoxian: of or related to midnight. "What are your mesonoxian plans?" sounds so much better on Dec. 31 than "Hey, whatcha doin' tonight?"

ichoglan: a page waiting in the palace of the Sultan. (from Turkish words that mean "interior" and "young man."). In this definition, 'waiting' obviously means 'serving,' but it's so much more poetic to understand it as 'to stay in expectation of.' What is he waiting FOR? Alas, the Sultan has fled, and we will never know.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lexicographer McKean, editor of Verbatim magazine, has combed the Oxford English Dictionary to come up with more than 400 choice items for this amusing dictionary of rarely used words. Perhaps you've recently been guilty of acrasia ("the state of mind in which you act against your better judgment"). Perhaps you need a new synonym for "slut": Drazel will do quite nicely. Or perhaps you've been offended but are willing to offer the guilty party ignoscency ("forgiveness"). You may never find a reason to use the word "dromaeognathous" ("having a palate like that of an emu"), but just encountering it here could brighten your day. New Yorker cartoonist Shanahan adds a touch of whimsy to the enterprise with his comic illustrations. Lighthearted and instructive, this small volume would make a good gift book for eccentric wordsmiths or grammarians.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"McKean, senior editor for the Oxford University Press North American Dictionary Project, has gleaned some fascinating words for our enjoyment....A welcome addition."--Library Journal

Lexicographer McKean, editor of Verbatim magazine, has combed the Oxford English Dictionary to come up with more than 400 choice items for this amusing dictionary of rarely used words. Perhaps youve recently been guilty of acrasia ("the state of mind in which you act against your better judgment"). Perhaps you need a new synonym for "slut": Drazel will do quite nicely. Or perhaps youve been offended but are willing to offer the guilty party ignoscency ("forgiveness"). You may never find a reason to use the word "dromaeognathous" ("having a palate like that of an emu"), but just encountering it here could brighten your day. New Yorker cartoonist Shanahan adds a touch of whimsy to the enterprise with his comic illustrations. Lighthearted and instructive, this small volume would make a good gift book for eccentric wordsmiths or grammarians.--PublishersWeekly.com

"As everyone knows, the words marked obsolete or archaic in unabridged dictionaries are the best words of all. In More Weird and Wonderful Words (Oxford Univ., $16.95), edited by Erin McKean, with illustrations by Danny Shanahan, the dazzled reader will learn that 'bloncket' means 'gray, or a light grayish blue' and 'infrendiate' to 'gnash the teeth' and 'discerp' to 'tear something to shreds.' This is clearly the ideal resource when feeling a certain 'delassation' (i.e., fatigue) with the plain, homespun language of everyday life. Besides isn't it good to know that a 'musophobist' is 'a person who regards poetry with suspicious dislike' and a 'rhyparographer' a 'painter of unpleasant or sordid subjects'?"--Washington Post Book World

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; annotated edition edition (October 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195170571
• ISBN-13: 978-0195170573
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #397,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Erin McKean is the founder and CEO of Wordnik.com. Previously, she was the editor in chief for American Dictionaries at Oxford University Press, and the editor of the New Oxford American Dictionary, 2E.

Her books include Weird and Wonderful Words, More Weird and Wonderful Words, Totally Weird and Wonderful Words, and That's Amore (which is also a collection of words). The Secret Lives of Dresses is her first novel, and really, her first book where the words are arranged in something other than alphabetical order.

Erin lives in California south of San Francisco and spends her free time reading, sewing, blogging, roller-skating, and arguing about whether robots or zombies would win in a fight (lasers optional). She loves loud prints, quiet people, long books with happy endings, and McVitie's Milk Chocolate Hobnobs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Even More of What I Liked Before, October 28, 2003

By 

"stupendiferous2000" (Akron, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: More Weird and Wonderful Words (Hardcover)

This book has even more of the kind of words that made "Weird and Wonderful Words" great. Not just 50-cent words for their own sake, but words that have interesting meanings as well. The essays are just as clever as in the first book and the illustrations show a slightly darker sense of humor.

My only quibble from the first book has been dealt with -- this book includes pronunciations for all of the entries.

If you liked the first book, you will find this one to be even more of what you enjoyed. If you didn't read the first one, you have two pleasures waiting for you.

Now all we need is the page-a-day calendar.