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Mark Forsyth

The Horologicon: A Day's Jaunt Through the Lost Words of the English Language [Hardcover] [Jan 01, 2012] Forsyth, Mark. Hardcover – International Edition, January 1, 2012

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BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK, READ BY HUGH DENNIS The Horologicon (or book of hours) gives you the most extraordinary words in the English language, arranged according to the hour of the day when you really need them. Do you wake up feeling rough? Then you`re philogrobolized. Pretending to work? That`s fudgelling, which may lead to rizzling if you feel sleepy after lunch, though by dinner time you will have become a sparkling deipnosophist. From Mark Forsyth, author of the bestselling The Etymologicon, this is a book of weird words for familiar situations. From ante-jentacular to snudge by way of quafftide and wamblecropt, at last you can say, with utter accuracy, exactly what you mean.

Language

English
Publisher

Icon Books Ltd
Publication date

January 1, 2012
Dimensions

5.43 x 1.06 x 8.03 inches
ISBN-10

9781848314153
ISBN-13

978-1848314153
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1848314159
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Icon Books Ltd; First Edition (January 1, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781848314153
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1848314153
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.43 x 1.06 x 8.03 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #216,506 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #175 in Etymology (Books)

Customer Reviews:
355 ratings

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Mark Forsyth

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Mark Forsyth is the author of several books on language, including, most recently, The Illustrated Etymologicon. He has also written books about drunkenness, Christmas traditions, and bookshops. He studied English at Oxford University, and lives in Clerkenwell, London.

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KL

The Horologicon

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 10, 2013

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I loved this author's other language book, The Etymologicon, so once I heard about this one I knew I had to read it.

This is a different sort of book though and doesn't quite hit the mark. The previous book, as the title suggests, is about the origins behind words, a topic I find fascinating. I like to know why we use words the way we do and how they evolved to current standards.

This book though is less about origins, though some are included, and more about obscure and forgotten words for various things. Each chapter is linked to an hour of the day and things associated with that hour. It was a good way of tying together different words and worked well.

Overall though this book just wasn't as interesting. There were a lot of funny words but there were also a great deal of words that were just a Latin version of an ordinary word. I find those rather boring as you can take almost any word and translate it into Latin. I'm more interested in the words that sprang from other sources.

If you like language I'd still recommend this book but I think you'll have a more enjoyable time reading The Etymologicon.

19 people found this helpful

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5/0

Needs a special audiance

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 4, 2015

Verified Purchase

The Horologician: A Day's Jaunt Through the Lost Worlds of the English Language by Mark Forsyth

You have to be a for-real Word Geek to enjoy this book but, if that's what it says on your T-shirt, you'll find a wealth of entertainment in Forsyth's eclectic rambles into and out of some of the most hidden, offbeat, hilarious, poignant and astonishing corners of the English Language.

4 people found this helpful

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beckyburrows

two E's...entertaining and educational

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 17, 2014

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Amusing pastime. We all should expand our ancient vocabulary, it would make conversation come alive. Our great grandparents used 40000 words in conveying thoughts and ideas. We use a paltry 10000. NOW if I could only remember things learned. Mr. Forsyth is witty and entertaining, not written in dictionary style but words introduced as a typical day would progress. I highly recommend this book.

3 people found this helpful

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Elda

Forsyth in Wonderwordsland

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 20, 2012

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Thinking of setting your expergefactor before going to bed? Or would you rather hear an aubade, first thing in the morning? Does not really matter, as long as you don't feel philogrobolized...
A treasure trove of ancient, forgotten, no longer used words; writers should really love this book - when they have that horrible blank page in front of them, a simple glance at any page of "The Horologicon" will help them finding all the words (sorry... vocables) they need to write the best novel of their life...
But this book will appeal to any words-lover: equally delightful as "The Etymologicon", witty, clever, humorous... not to be missed!

13 people found this helpful

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B.E. Bailey

Forsyth has a way with words

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 1, 2015

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I know it's weird, but I love words. I love to know word origins, and I could read or listen to books about words for hours. Mark Forsyth has written a fantastic book that not only makes me love etymology more, he keeps me entertained. Even if you are just casually interested in the meaning of everyday word usage, you'll love this book.

4 people found this helpful

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Adrienne

The Horologicon

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 26, 2013

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What a fun and funny book to read! If you enjoy the English language and all its quirks, this is a book that will keep you amused as it educates. As always, Mark Forsyth does not disappoint.

One person found this helpful

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Al D

Words for the day

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 14, 2019

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Delicious servings for word lovers flavored with bits of history and philosophy.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 11, 2017

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Fascinating and well written. Author has a unique but pleasurable style of writing. Interesting top to bottom.

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Top reviews from other countries

Plucked Highbrow

not a great read but a great dip

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 3, 2014

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The Horologicon is a book about words. These are mainly obscure words, often dialect, which are related to everyday life and their meanings and derivations are explained. That might sound very boring and almost like a dictionary. This book is not like that at all.

The main thing that engages the reader is the wit of the author, Forsyth has a dry sense of humour and it enlivens what could be a really dull subject. My only issue with this book is a personal habit, I like to read books from start to finish and that is not the way to approach this book. It's like a box of rich chocolates, you need to visit it in short bursts as gorging makes you feel queasy and not appreciate the contents.

9 people found this helpful

Keith Chatton

Highly entertaining & hugely informative.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 16, 2013

Verified Purchase

I'd seen this book on the shelves of local supermarkets and had browsed through it on several occasions. When I discovered the e-book was available for less than a pound, I snapped it up immediately.

I've always been interested in words and am sometimes known as a bit of a walking thesaurus, so Mark's Horolgogicon and its companion Etymologicon are very much my cup of tea. It's very well presented and the chapters follow the progression of a day, and alternatives are offered for activities associated with those parts of a typical working day.

Not only is it educational, it is also very witty and I found myself laughing out loud at the colourful, well-researched explanations of the strange, under-utilised words and phrases of the finest and richest tongue on the globe.

My favourite word in the book is "quafftide" - a time for drinking and an expression I much prefer to the faux-royal "ginoclock"

Highly recommended.

5 people found this helpful

Michael Lewington

Something to dip into

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 17, 2020

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Unlike the Etymologicon by the same other, this is not the sort of book to read from cover to cover. To be fair to the author, he does make this point,

One person found this helpful

Punk Preacher

A day in the life.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 11, 2013

Verified Purchase

Mark Forsyth"s latest adventure through the less chartered corners of the English language takes us through a typical day. Once again he regales us with his wit and imagination as he reintroduces us to a world long since hidden among the dusty tomes of the British Library. I did feel that the book ended somewhat abruptly, and yet it is still a fine follow up to the companion volume, The Etymologicon. Mark Forsyth is fine writer, and look forward to what he comes up with next.

One person found this helpful

Terry Allen

I love this book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 29, 2013

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If you liked the first book then this is more of the same - The Etymologicon was a set of fascinating wordy facts, each of which linked to the next one n the book in a way that kept my engrossed and wanting to read more. The Horologicon provides a new set of equally fascinating facts, but this time organised by the hours of the day. If I had to choose, I'd probably say that the first book is better than the first, but it's a close run thing.

One person found this helpful

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