The Superior Person's Second Book of Weird and Wondrous Words [Hardcover]

Peter Bowler (Author), Ron Bell (Illustrator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 087923928X | ISBN-13: 978-0879239282 | Publication Date: August 1, 1992

Like its predecessor, this useful, funny, and edifying little volume will give you the right words for any occasion. This second collection contains 600 outlandish (and thoroughly useful) words that will help readers, in the words of the author, "more readily assert a fitting ascendancy over their fellows at the traffic lights of life."

Editorial Reviews

Review

Nothing short of a brief dictionary for those who aspire to linguistic snobbery. --St. Petersburg Times

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: David R Godine (August 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087923928X
• ISBN-13: 978-0879239282
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #676,235 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I Reached Kalopsia* Within Minutes of Opening The Cover, March 28, 2006

By 

Greg Robertson (Historic Quincy, MA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Superior Person's Second Book of Weird and Wondrous Words (Hardcover)

I've read this book cover to cover and often use it for reference, so I obviously do like it very much. In fact, it's wonderful for casually spicing your next letter, story, or term paper with one or two words that you KNOW the reader will have to look up. It's also better than a dictionary because Bowler's "definitions" describe how each word is used conversationally, not just what it means. Furthermore, the words offered are good ones, neither too onerable nor too simple.

My only problem with this book is that for what it is, it's very overpriced. I hate to be a cheapskate, but for what you get, this should at most be $8. After all, it should also be indexed in the back to guide you to the "superior" words from the basic word or thought the reader is looking for. It's nice to learn that "Numinous" means "divine," for example, but why not list the word "divine" in an index with pages on which related words - like Numinous - appear? That would make it much easier to do the previously-mentioned "spicing."

So...I suggest you get the best of both worlds. Buy the book, because it's fun and educational and can make you look smarter, but buy it Used from one of the Amazon partner stores for the lower price that it deserves.

* An emotional state in which things appear to be more beautiful than they really are.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, but not always wondrous, December 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Superior Person's Second Book of Weird and Wondrous Words (Hardcover)

Bowler has compiled another interesting collection of words, with amusing commentary on them. While there is some repetition of common-root words (e.g., morology, morosis), and not all of these words seem particularly arcane (e.g., natatorium, zeitgeist), this book would be of use to the RUPTUARY aspiring to TAPINOSIS, and enjoyable for the rest of us.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Are You A Gynotikolobomassophile?, January 12, 2005

By 

Robert I. Hedges - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Superior Person's Second Book of Weird and Wondrous Words (Hardcover)

I learned a lot from this wonderful book, which was a well-considered Christmas gift from my extremely exoptable best friend. One thing I learned is that I am rather devoted to gynotikolobomassophilia, as long as it is with the right person, of course! Unfortunately, on the down side, I occasionally suffer from bouts of onychophagy when under stress. (Sometimes I bite my nails.)

This book is an absolute treasure trove of exotic vocabulary. Prior to reading this book, I knew what maybe ten percent of these words meant. To say that I have been enlightened and broadened is somewhat of an understatement. I did not know, for instance, that "fabiform" means "bean-shaped." Likewise I was surprised to discover that "interbastation," which sounds positively naughty, actually means "quilting."

Also amusing to me is the discussion of the typeface, a normally boring affair. Perhaps one reason I liked this book so much is because it is set in Galliard, "a type of solid weight, it possesses authentic sparkle that is lacking in most current Garamonds."

This is a great book. The entries are universally witty and obscure, and will be sure to please the bibliophile in your life. I could not recommend this book more highly.