The Meaning of Liff (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In life and, indeed, in liff, there are many hundreds of common experiences, feelings, situations and even objects which we all know and recognize, but for which no words exist. This text uses place names to describe some of these meanings. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Crown Pub (June 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571131433
• ISBN-13: 978-0571131433
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,429,701 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sniglets, British style, February 24, 2001

By	John Ronald (Sugar Land, Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Meaning of Liff (Hardcover)

Monty-python-esque approach to language...this is the British version of what in America are called "sniglets", little neo-logisms invented for things and situations which don't have proper words to designate them but ought to. The difference is that these creations ala Douglas Adams & John Lloyd use already existing town names in the UK and re-define them to make them useful (and funny)...this is altogether different from American sniglets like "bevemirage" (the black plastic bottom of a liter bottle of dark cola that fools you temporarily into thinking there is more cola left in the bottle than there actually is), which tend to be creative word-fusions of already existing words. The only U.S. linguistic construction I can think of that comes close to what Lloyd and Adams are doing here is the phrase "in a New York Minute", aka "really fast". Though there is no collorary such as "in a Topeka minute" (or whatever) to mean slow, drawn out (but maybe there ought to be). I bought this book in the UK for £4.99 GPB, but it seems it's out of print here in the USA, alas. Probably out of print in Britain also. Well worth it, if you stumble across a copy!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very clever!, April 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Meaning of Liff (Hardcover)

This is a brilliant little book. It contains words for all those annoying things that there ought to be words for but aren't. For example: 'the precise distance between your outstretched fingers and the ticket sticking out of the machine at the gate entrance to a parking lot'. If you want something to make you giggle, this is the book!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Lot Of Fun..., July 30, 2004

By	Oymaprat (Nowhere In Particular) - See all my reviews

...that's what this book is. It is there when you've got a dentist appointment and have to sit around for ages to give you a chuckle. It's there for that God awful plane journey. It's there to keep you occupied. If you don't like reading 30 page chapters before you go to sleep at night then this is for you. Just read a page and guaranteed you'll find some thing you can relate to, and/or find amusing. This is a book that takes town names and gives them everyday meaning for things there are no words to explain. For example: you're walking down a corridor and see someone you recognise. But wait, have they seen you, should you wave or, perhaps ignore them until there're close enough for you to say hi, or nod. This is in fact covered by many different names in the book, all intertwind, making it all hugely funny.
On many occasions the names are very funny and appropriate.
I'm fairly sure that you will love this book. And, when I'm writting this, Amazon are doing a 'buy Meaning Of Liff and Deeper Meaning Of Liff together' offer which I advise you take advatage of- I did.
Anyway, buy this book if you like the sound of it, and feel free to chuckle.
I hope I've been of service... Toodle Pipskie (is that how you spell it?)