Sniglets

by Rich Hall

Collier Books paperback 1984. Comedy illustrated.

Genres: Humor, Language, Nonfiction, Reference, Comedy

94 pages, Paperback

First published January 2, 1984

About the author

Richard Travis Hall is an American comedian, writer, documentary maker, and musician, first coming to prominence as a sketch comedian in the 1980s. He wrote and performed for a range of American networks, in series such as Fridays, Not Necessarily the News (popularising the "sniglet" neologism), and Saturday Night Live.
After winning a Perrier Comedy Award in 2000, using the character of Tennesseean country musician Otis Lee Crenshaw, Hall became popular in the United Kingdom, regularly appearing on QI and similar panel shows. He has created and starred in several series for the BBC, including comedies with Mike Wilmot and documentaries often concerning cinema of the United States. Hall has also maintained a successful stand-up comedy career, as both Crenshaw and himself.

Reviews

[Bekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giving this books five stars solely because I laughed so much. I was also really surprised that the book included words like spork and pediddel, which I have been using my whole life (though I always spelled it pudiddle). It makes me wonder about the origins of words, who may have been the first to use them, and why some catch on and others do not. Some of the words are a bit stupid, but the definitions had me rolling! If you want a humorous, easy read, look around for this book (though I'm not sure how easy it will be to find.)

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

The one thing that keeps humans going even though we seem to keep lacking it is communication. Within the English language itself and just within generations there is a signified difference in how we talk to each other, how we tell stories and even what words are used or even how they are used. Like sparks in the night some even float off into the darkness and die silently without a breath to stir them back into flickering life.

And so it is always with interest that I find books like this. They may seem ridiculous or stupid but at the same time they prove that we are truly human since everything must have a name even if we don't exactly know it. At the same time it also marks our development while capturing where we are in our years. In this case the book captures the '80s and parts of the '90s. As a result they capture technology that newer generations may eventually come not to know about thus it is a time capsule.

The book itself is presented as a collection of words that are presented in a dictionary fashion. As such it provides the reader the word, how to pronounce it, its place in speech and a quick definition. To help break the wordiness some cartoonish illustrations have also been added that are part of its tongue-in-cheek humor.

As for the humor itself it is more funny to read it aloud and share the book with another. Otherwise the book does seem to loses it comedy value.

In the end it was a nice and enjoyable quick read but a one-timer for me as it probably will be for many others who may read this particular book.

[Clay Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny made up words.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even 30+ years later, I still love these books. Found a copy at a second-hand bookstore. Rich Hall always did a few of them on HBO's "Not Necessarily the News" and it was the only part of that show I understood as a kid. These are words that should exist, but aren't quite in the dictionary yet. Some of my favorites are: Diagonerd (a driver who takes up two parking spaces for their car), Essoasso (a driver who cuts through a service station to avoid a red light), and Jetschpiel (the "safety speech" given at the beginning of a flight that frequent fliers mostly ignore). We even came up with Toileterror (the feeling you get when you sit down to use the bathroom and look over to see an empty toilet paper roll--and no extra rolls anywhere). Teens should understand most of these but kids under 12 won't follow this book at all.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still use some of these words. Very funny.

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another old book I found in the garage.

I used to think Sniglets were the most hilarious thing ever. Seriously, I would read these things and literally laugh so hard I would cry. I would repeatedly try to convince my friends of how funny Sniglets were, but apparently they lacked the intellect to appreciate such words as:

Backspackle: Markings on the back of one's shirt from riding a fenderless bicycle.

and

Caltitude: The height to which a cat's rear end can rise to meet the hand stroking it.

Hmmm...these don't seem quite so funny now that I revisit them...

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a lot cuter back when it first came out. Looking through it now I see a lot of the words are realy "reachers" that don't quite make it. Some are genious, though, like "maypop" for a bald tire, and Phonesia, for calling someone and forgetting who you called when they answer the phone.

[Benjamin Plume · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are hilarious. I forget which book it was in, but my favorite was "Aquadextrous: having the ability to turn the water faucet in the bathtub on and off with one's feet."

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought this was a hoot when I was a kid. My favorite word in the book is bovalexia.