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The Horologicon: A Day's Jaunt Through the Lost Words of the English Language
by
Mark Forsyth (Goodreads Author)
Do you wake up feeling rough? Then you’re philogrobolized.
Find yourself pretending to work? That’s fudgelling.
And this could lead to rizzling, if you feel sleepy after lunch. Though you are sure to become a sparkling deipnosopbist by dinner. Just don’t get too vinomadefied; a drunk dinner companion is never appreciated.
The Horologicon (or book of hours) contains the most e...more
Find yourself pretending to work? That’s fudgelling.
And this could lead to rizzling, if you feel sleepy after lunch. Though you are sure to become a sparkling deipnosopbist by dinner. Just don’t get too vinomadefied; a drunk dinner companion is never appreciated.
The Horologicon (or book of hours) contains the most e...more
Hardcover, 258 pages
Published
November 1st 2012
by Icon Books
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BOTWThe Etymologicon was last year's surprise runaway bestseller. The author has now assembled The Horologicon, or book of hours, to delight his audience with a feast of words appropriate to a precise moment of the day.
Written by Mark Forsyth Read by Hugh Dennis Abridged and produced by Jane Marshall A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio4
Theme tune is Camille Saint-Saëns - Danse Macabre
4* The Etymologicon
3* The Horologicon
From BBC Radio 4 - Book of the Week:
The Etymologicon was last year's surprise runaway bestseller. The author has now assembled The Horologicon, or book of hours, to delight his audience with a feast of words appropriate to a precise moment of the day.
The Etymologicon was last year's surprise runaway bestseller. The author has now assembled The Horologicon, or book of hours, to delight his audience with a feast of words appropriate to a precise moment of the day.
Are you looking for that wonderful gift to present to the individual in your life who appears to have swallowed a lexicon with their mornings repast, and have you been a bit tardy in getting said article? Well fret not here is an awesome nay, Brobdingnagian offering that could easily engender feelings of exuberance and even adoration from said recipient!
In his preambulation Mark Forsyth states that this book is for those words that are..
“To beautiful to live long, too amusing to be taken serious...more
In his preambulation Mark Forsyth states that this book is for those words that are..
“To beautiful to live long, too amusing to be taken serious...more
Following The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language was always going to be a tough feat, but to give the author his due he didn't do the obvious and simply create The Etymologicon II (apologies to Mr Forsyth if that's what he's doing now).
The Horologicon is a book of hours - an exploration of the lost and obscure words of the English language organised by the hours of the day in which they are (sometimes tangentially) most useful. With terms for...more
The Horologicon is a book of hours - an exploration of the lost and obscure words of the English language organised by the hours of the day in which they are (sometimes tangentially) most useful. With terms for...more
I love, love, loved Mark Forsyth's previous book The Etymologicon. So much so that I had to make a second post just to talk about all the words I tweeted about whilst reading it. I was super excited to read The Horologicon, and had planned to buy it when I went to a Mark Forsyth event which was meant to be last week (but was cancelled because apparently people in Birmingham don't appreciate words *sob*), however when I saw it up on netgalley I snatched it up right away.
Maybe my expectations were...more
Maybe my expectations were...more
A thoroughly entertaining romp through rare and obsolete words that are appropriate for different times of the day. Forsyth arranges his 19 chapters chronologically from waking to turning in for the night, taking the reader from 6am to 12 midnight, from dawn, dressing, breakfast and commute through work, lunch and procrastination to tea time, food shopping, going out and returning home to bed. This book was to me a delight, light and witty in tone but erudite in knowledge. Forsyth readably conve...more
Mark Forsyth's forays into the English language are entertaining, knowledgeable and fascinating. I loved the Etymologicon and I enjoyed the Horologicon almost (but not quite) as much. To get the most out of his books, however, they require repeated reading, at least for me, because otherwise you just forget most of it, and believe me, this is material that you don't want to forget.
The Horologicon loses one star for me, simply because there was a point towards the end where Forsyth lost my atten...more
The Horologicon loses one star for me, simply because there was a point towards the end where Forsyth lost my atten...more
First off, this is a book for those who are interested in coming across words that you have never seen or read before because it was lost over time. If you do not like the history of how certain words came about, then this is not the book for you. If you are, you need to buy this book! I immensely enjoyed reading this book because it contained beautifully-looking words that I never thought it existed in the English language, ancient words that still can be used in context, and funny condensed ba...more
In the Horologican, meaning ‘book of hours’, author Mark Forsyth presents us with a collection of weird and wonderful words from within the depths of the English language, ordered by the hours in the day, so that we can grasp them at the time of day that we can most appropriately use them.
It’s a really entertaining read for anyone even remotely fascinated by language. Starting at 6am and taking us through until midnight, the author has compiled an amazing collection of words that perfectly fit...more
It’s a really entertaining read for anyone even remotely fascinated by language. Starting at 6am and taking us through until midnight, the author has compiled an amazing collection of words that perfectly fit...more
Awesome book. I still loved "The Etymologicon," which is the first book in this Gemel Edition of books, more. This book went through the hours of the day and told all about lost words that pertain to that portion of a normal day. A fun way to organize words, unlike a dictionary which the author notes is impossible to look up and see if there is a word for a particular definition using a standard dictionary.
It's been a long time since a book has had such strong, outward reactions while reading....more
It's been a long time since a book has had such strong, outward reactions while reading....more
I went against Forsyth's suggestion and read this front-to-back, so the only hour I was reading at the appointed time was midnight, when I finished it. I don't care that it's a newspaper endorsed bestseller because the culture sections are heavily opinionated (in the Guardian the report about the new out-of-town wing of the Louvre said it was a mistake) and I don't read them. I also can't be arsed to review it using obscure words because I'm going to bed soon and it's gimmicky.
That's the ungimmi...more
That's the ungimmi...more
The Horologicon is a delightful journey through an entire day populated by words that have meandered out of the every day English usage. Forsyth’s tone is cheeky, slightly irreverent and very, very engaging. It is funny because although this is what Louise Rosenblatt would term “efferent reading,” reading The Horologicon doesn’t feel as mentally taxing and as dense as one feel after say, reading something else that demands attention, something that isn’t for fun, per se, but to glean information...more
For every hour of the day, The Horologicon brings us a lost word or four to perfectly suit any situation. Mark Forsyth takes us through an average working day from the first moments of consciousness to avoiding working at work, ending on a night out and a much deserved descent into sleep.
The Horologicon is an absolute delight to read if you just love words. I laughed out loud on several occasions and have squirrelled away so many new old words for future use. Don’t let these words die out! There...more
The Horologicon is an absolute delight to read if you just love words. I laughed out loud on several occasions and have squirrelled away so many new old words for future use. Don’t let these words die out! There...more
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 vari...more
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 vari...more
This is a witty and fun short read that you can use to effectively counter and stun your friends that possibly find most of their knowledge from the (admittedly awesome) elves of QI fame.
Forsyth has an engaging writing style and I thoroughly enjoyed The Etymologicon last year; this book, whilst different in format, loses none of the style that drew me to the first title.
A great little book for the commute (or other brief times where you find yourself indisposed and need some reading matter to ha...more
Forsyth has an engaging writing style and I thoroughly enjoyed The Etymologicon last year; this book, whilst different in format, loses none of the style that drew me to the first title.
A great little book for the commute (or other brief times where you find yourself indisposed and need some reading matter to ha...more
Somewhat unfortunately, I read this at the same time as the new QI book of 1,227 facts, which included many of the words in this volume, obviously not by total coincidence. It's a fun book, though, with Mark Forsyth's humour as much as or more in evidence than in The Etymologicon. I don't think I'm going to remember many of these words, if any, but they are indeed satisfying and odd, and some of them are undeservedly defunct.
Excellent book - the first thing I read on my Christmas Kindle and it kept me hooked for most of the Christmas period!
If you like unusual words, this is for you. The writing style makes it extremely readable - he's a very funny writer - and it's well laid out to be a useful reference book after the first cover to cover reading.
Definitely worth reading.
If you like unusual words, this is for you. The writing style makes it extremely readable - he's a very funny writer - and it's well laid out to be a useful reference book after the first cover to cover reading.
Definitely worth reading.
Full review: http://therarefied.blogspot.in/2013/0...
As a big word buff and a lover of English language, Mark Forsyth's second outing The Horologicon is a simply a witty, irreverent and fact-filled 'jaunt through the lost words of the English language'... Starting The Etymologicon right away!!!!
As a big word buff and a lover of English language, Mark Forsyth's second outing The Horologicon is a simply a witty, irreverent and fact-filled 'jaunt through the lost words of the English language'... Starting The Etymologicon right away!!!!
I found this book to be a fun and light-hearted read that was at once both entertaining and informative. I certainly learnt a lot of new words and laughed out loud a few times. I doubt many of the words will creep into my everyday vocabulary, but it was definitely worthwhile getting to know them.
This is a book that will appeal to any keen linguist and anyone with an interest in the lost words and phrases of the English language. It is a work you can read cover to cover or dip into at your leisur...more
This is a book that will appeal to any keen linguist and anyone with an interest in the lost words and phrases of the English language. It is a work you can read cover to cover or dip into at your leisur...more
Having loved The Etymylogicon I was dying to follow it up with the Horologicon and although I enjoyed it, it was not as free flowing and amusing as his earlier book. I listened to both on audio book which I would strongly recommend, perfect for Uhtceare! What's that? You ask, read the book!
A fun read of one's daily life, told using a plethora of extinct, archaic and dead colloquial English; some of the words are wonderful not just to read about, but simply to say out-loud (even if they're describing something less than pleasant, such as being 'wamblecropt')
*smiles* Reviewed on my website in full, but a quick review here...
Exceedingly clever and endlessly entertaining. Filled with weird and wonderful forgotten words, The Horologicon is a rare reference book that begs to be read cover to cover in one sitting.
http://onehugestackofbooks.blogspot.c...
Exceedingly clever and endlessly entertaining. Filled with weird and wonderful forgotten words, The Horologicon is a rare reference book that begs to be read cover to cover in one sitting.
http://onehugestackofbooks.blogspot.c...
Excellent. Mark Forsyth is to linguistics what Steven Dubner is to economics. This book combines his wit and passion for words with an investigator's eye for daily rhythms. An excellent read. I only wish he had included the French expression "cherche-midi" in his section on lunch-fossickers (which survives to this day on Rue du Cherche Midi).
I expected to love this and it did not disappoint. I expect to be reading it (and the etymologicon, of course) regularly until I've memorised all the words it contains. Such wonderful expressions.
I really, really enjoyed this book. It's a fantastic adventure into a world of lost words and phrases. It's brilliant and really maintains your attention. I thought maybe it would be a bit boring, but Forsyth's language and prose is really well done, it's funny and smart and so so interesting. Can't recommend it enough!
Written in a fairly humourous style, a cheery picked pile of never used or sparingly used old words which are still relevant to our lives today. Gongoozlers beware.
fun book about the lost words in the English language. I did a quick read through it...it will be a book that I will go back to periodically and just read a few sections again here and there .
A fun read with an almost overwhelming amount of obscure words. Forsyth is a very witty writer and I am eagerly awaiting his next book. PS: This book was also excellent value on Kindle at only 99p!
Instantly forgettable (...thats a good word, I must remember it...). A very entertaining and pleasant read.
May 10, 2013
Cailin
added it
This is wonderful to read cover to cover, but also works fantastically as a reference book. I found it imvaluably useful whilst writing creatively.
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Mark Forsyth is a writer, journalist and blogger. Every job he’s ever had, whether as a ghost-writer or proof-reader or copy-writer, has been to do with words. He started The Inky Fool blog in 2009 and now writes a post almost every day. The blog has received worldwide attention and enjoys an average of 4,000 hits per week.
Mr. Forsyth currently resides in London.
More about Mark Forsyth...
Mr. Forsyth currently resides in London.
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“The problem with the alphabet is that it bears no relation to anything at all, and when words are arranged alphabetically they are uselessly separated. In the OED, for example, aardvarks are 19 volumes away from the zoo, yachts are 18 volumes from the beach, and wine is 17 volumes from the nearest corkscrew.”
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3 people liked it
“So familiar are eggs to us, however, that in the eighteenth century they were referred to as cackling farts, on the basis that chickens cackled all the time and eggs came out of the back of them.”
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2 people liked it
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Dec 05, 2012 09:46am
Dec 06, 2012 01:19am