The Idler's Glossary

by Joshua Glenn, Mark Kingwell, Seth (Designer)

"Dawdler." "Layabout." "Shit-heel." "Loser." For as long as mankind has had to work for a living, which is to say ever since the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, people who work have disparaged those who prefer not to. Mark Kingwell's introductory essay offers a playful defence of the idler as homo superior, while Joshua Glenn's glossary playfully explores the etymology and history of hundreds of idler-specific terms and phrases, while offering both a corrective to popular misconceptions about idling and a foundation for a new mode of thinking about working and not working. The Idler's Glossary is destined to become The Devil's Dictionary for the idling classes, necessary reading for any and all who wish to introduce more truly "free" time into their daily lives.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy

132 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

The introduction (which takes up approximately a quarter of the book) makes for a fairly good 6000 word essay on the topic, going significantly further than (and taking issue with) Bertrand Russell's In Praise of Idleness by insisting on a distinction between slacking (which is simply the work of avoiding work) and idling (a primary state by itself, not defined solely as the negation of work). However, the main body of the book (the glossary) is rather dull and tedious. Stick instead to How to Be Idle (by Tom Hodgkinson, to whom this book is dedicated.)

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Engaging and quotable, this book nonetheless strikes a scolding note at times, a note absent from the companion volume, The Wage Slave's Glossary. If you were to fret over whether you are slacking, instead of idling, as much as Glenn seemingly wants you to, you would soon be incapable of doing either. Despite that tonal difficulty, I found most of this book very enjoyable, particularly the introductory essay by Mark Kingwell.

This puts The Idler's Glossary next to Tom Lutz's Doing Nothing, in the more observational section of idler's literature. For a more enthusiastic and sympathetic look at the same ground, I suggest Tom Hodgkinson's How to be Idle.

[Sean Goh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slackers avoid work, idlers realise there's more to life than work.

Whether he succeeds or fails, the true loser is one who enters a race that isn't worth winning. Sometimes quitting is the winner thing to do.

Freedom-to time and freedom-from time are distinctive, one is truly free, the other a brief respite.

[Tosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I brought this with me for the trip to Paris. Mostly due to the size of the book, which can fit in my Levi's back pocket. A real pocket book! It's beautifully designed and I am going to finish it off tonight. A real review later!

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's possible to articulate laziness in a way that makes it sound ok. Even to protestants.