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Wordwatching: How to Break into the Dictionary
Alex Horne loves words. He loves them so much, in fact, that he decided to invent his own—to create a brand new verbal concept and successfully implant it into the English language, and the Oxford English Dictionary . But breaking into the dictionary was going to take more than just a gentle word in the ear of the OED 's editor, as Alex soon discovered. Evidence was required—Alex needed proof that his word was in print and used by more people than just him and his mom. He needed, to use the dictionary's word, a "corpus" of examples, so a corpus he resolved to create. And he gave himself 1,000 days in which to do it. This is the story of what happened next. Did Alex get a word in the OED ? What is a pratdigger? Are you already using one of Alex's words without realizing it? You won't regret spending your hard-earned honk on this hugely entertaining book full of wordy trivia and funny tales of verbal invention.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 14, 2010
30 people are currently reading
310 people want to read
About the author
Alex Horne
15 books105 followersAlex Horne (born 10 September 1978) is a British comedian. He is the host of "The Horne Section", a live music variety show which has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
Horne was educated at Lancing College (Fields House, 1991–1996) and the University of Cambridge, where he was a member of Footlights.
He made his first appearance at the Edinburgh festival in 2000 with his show, "How To Avoid Huge Ships". His 2003 Edinburgh show, "Making Fish Laugh" was nominated for a Perrier newcomer award. In 2004 he won a Chortle Award for Best Breakthrough Act. His shows with Tim Key have been "Every Body Talks" and "When In Rome", both of which featured unusually extensive use of Microsoft PowerPoint for a comic act. Horne toured Roman towns of the UK with the "When In Rome" show in early 2006.
More recently he has worked alongside fellow comedian Owen Powell, in the attempt to find a person from every nationality living in London. After a year's search, they finally managed to meet people from 189 of the UN's 192 countries whilst satisfactorily proving that there is nobody in the capital from Tuvalu, Palau or the Marshall Islands.
As a solo performer, Horne then wrote and performed "Birdwatching" at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival and "Wordwatching" at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival. He has signed a two-book deal with Virgin Publishing to write up both of these stories as books. The first, entitled Birdwatchingwatching, came out early in 2009. The second came out in early 2010.
On January 18, 2007, Horne became the first ever comedian to perform in Second Life for a feature on Sky News.
As of April 2010, Horne is attempting to become the oldest man in the world with the Long Live Alex project.
In 2011 he compered "The Horne Section", a comedy variety show with live music which was later broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
Horne was educated at Lancing College (Fields House, 1991–1996) and the University of Cambridge, where he was a member of Footlights.
He made his first appearance at the Edinburgh festival in 2000 with his show, "How To Avoid Huge Ships". His 2003 Edinburgh show, "Making Fish Laugh" was nominated for a Perrier newcomer award. In 2004 he won a Chortle Award for Best Breakthrough Act. His shows with Tim Key have been "Every Body Talks" and "When In Rome", both of which featured unusually extensive use of Microsoft PowerPoint for a comic act. Horne toured Roman towns of the UK with the "When In Rome" show in early 2006.
More recently he has worked alongside fellow comedian Owen Powell, in the attempt to find a person from every nationality living in London. After a year's search, they finally managed to meet people from 189 of the UN's 192 countries whilst satisfactorily proving that there is nobody in the capital from Tuvalu, Palau or the Marshall Islands.
As a solo performer, Horne then wrote and performed "Birdwatching" at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival and "Wordwatching" at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival. He has signed a two-book deal with Virgin Publishing to write up both of these stories as books. The first, entitled Birdwatchingwatching, came out early in 2009. The second came out in early 2010.
On January 18, 2007, Horne became the first ever comedian to perform in Second Life for a feature on Sky News.
As of April 2010, Horne is attempting to become the oldest man in the world with the Long Live Alex project.
In 2011 he compered "The Horne Section", a comedy variety show with live music which was later broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
January 15, 2022
During lockdown I discovered a British entertainment show called Taskmaster, which was devised by a comedian named Alex Horne. I quickly became obsessed, and I've become a big fan of Alex himself, watching his YouTube show and following his podcast.
I'm giving this background as it goes a long way to explain my 5 star rating. I honestly loved this book, it felt like Alex was in the room telling me his exploits, but looking at it from an objective standpoint, I think the vast majority of the readers out there wouldn't agree or identify with it as much.
Anyway now I've gotten all that out of the way, this is a highly entertaining story of one man's attempt to get several new words added to the dictionary. I very much enjoyed his exploits, and will be adding "honk", a synonym for money to my vocab.
This is a must for Alex Horne fans.
I'm giving this background as it goes a long way to explain my 5 star rating. I honestly loved this book, it felt like Alex was in the room telling me his exploits, but looking at it from an objective standpoint, I think the vast majority of the readers out there wouldn't agree or identify with it as much.
Anyway now I've gotten all that out of the way, this is a highly entertaining story of one man's attempt to get several new words added to the dictionary. I very much enjoyed his exploits, and will be adding "honk", a synonym for money to my vocab.
This is a must for Alex Horne fans.
February 16, 2021
Прекрасна книжечка про те, як треба заморочитися і боротися до поту і крові, щоб кілька придуманих тобою і друзями дурнявих слів стали настільки поширеними, щоб їх включили в словники. Постійно посміхаєшся тому, як Алекс мислить, і до яких методів звертається, щоб популяризувати свої слова (наприклад, на культовому телевізійному шоу присвяченому словам Каунтдаун прослизує своє вигадане слово, щоб його почула вся Британія, і ніхто його не перепитує, і я була в шокове, і цей прекрасний момент назавжди є на ютубі). Книжечка про пташок прям дуже сподобалась, ця теж гарна, але дуже вже багато в ній деталей, які будуть цікаві лише британцям/задротам філологам.
January 10, 2020
I like Horne's enthusiasm for words and wordplay but somehow after a few chapters it just didn't seem to be all that interesting as a book. I found it a bit odd that the words he was trying to introduce into the language were a mix of made-up ones, and actual ones - in the latter case he was trying to give them a different meaning. While it's a fun idea, it seems a lot of effort to do something organised in terms of introducing a new word, when new words spring up seemingly of their own accord every day! LOL
May 9, 2019
This book combines the etymology of words with one man's attempt to get some new words into the dictionary. Unfortunately, it was not as funny as I hoped it would be.
It read like someone trying to explain an inside joke to you, not terrible but not really amusing either. Also, I realised one of the etymology stories was made up because I knew the real one and consequently lost all trust in the explanations from that point onwards. Horne later explains that he only made up one anecdote and it is probably sheer bad luck that I spotted it straight away. Still, I don't want to have this feeling of being lied to in a non-fiction book. This was just not for me.
It read like someone trying to explain an inside joke to you, not terrible but not really amusing either. Also, I realised one of the etymology stories was made up because I knew the real one and consequently lost all trust in the explanations from that point onwards. Horne later explains that he only made up one anecdote and it is probably sheer bad luck that I spotted it straight away. Still, I don't want to have this feeling of being lied to in a non-fiction book. This was just not for me.
April 13, 2024
My television-viewing habits permanently changed four years ago when I stumbled upon a deeply silly little show called Taskmaster. Chock full of ludicrous challenges, unexpected solutions, and many a debate about the intricacies of the English language, it seemed tailor-made for my extremely specific tastes. So you can imagine my surprise when the series became massively popular (by panel show standards), to the point where I can discuss it with "normal" folks, even here in America! Perhaps those surreal early days of the pandemic were the ideal time for something like Taskmaster to break through; it couldn't have worked out better even if Alex Horne had engineered the virus himself*. Of course, if he had attempted such a dastardly tactic to achieve his goals in Wordwatching, then perhaps it would be more than just sporadically interesting/entertaining. (Interestaining? There, I made a word! Do I get to be in the dictionary now?)
For my taste, the book is at its most compelling when Alex simply gushes about his love for wordplay and the peculiarities of language. Sadly, this means I was never more charmed than during the prologue, all about Alex's sickeningly precocious childhood obsession with anagrams, palindromes, and the like. Though a bit pretentious (he even admits as much), his enthusiasm is contagious, as long as you're also the nerdy, wordy sort. And if you're not, why would you consider reading this? Why are you even on this site??? It also provides a fascinating insight into Alex's peculiar sense of humo(u)r, which is naturally on full display here. In fact, one of the old stand-up gags he tosses in is the best/worst pun I've heard in some time. ("I've been very lonely ever since someone told me I was about as tall as a large flightless bird. I just felt very ostrich-sized!")
Unfortunately, books have to actually be about something, and that's where Wordwatching flounders a bit. On onehand paddle, his quest to get words into the dictionary is a very Alex Horne thing to do, and it would make for a perfectly fine anecdote if he just focused on the highlights. Alex's infamous stint on Countdown (the proper one, not the Jimmy Carr one) is obviously the climax of the story, but there are plenty of other delights to be found, including a "very nice but vigorous" exchange with none other than Victoria Coren. (No Mitchell yet.) However, the story gains nothing from being stretched out to fill an entire book, forcing Alex to focus on all the lowlights as well. How many times can he pat himself on the back simply for slipping a surreptitious honk and/or bollo into yet another interview before the entire project starts to seem properly games? (Am I using that right, Alex?)
While I wouldn't say Wordwatching is a bad book by any means, I'd only recommend it to folks who are already fans, who have already gorged themselves on his other projects and could use a Little (more) Alex Horne in their lives. He's as funny and charming as ever, his love of words is infectious, and it's interesting to get a glimpse of the sorts of oddball projects he used to get up to, when he still had free time. With that being said, this would be far less compelling if you didn't already have a pre-existing fascination with the man and his work. From that perspective, the actual project is rather poorly thought out, with a thoroughly disappointing non-conclusion, and it's padded out with a bunch of asides about etymologies that even Alex himself admits are highly dubious at best. To be completely honest (and I am in fact honest to a fault, though just barely), there are many better books about words out there. But are they written by Alex Horne? I don't think so!
*Viewers of the also enjoyable New Zealand version of Taskmaster already know the pandemic was started by Madeleine Sami, but as this is an international adaptation of Alex Horne's own show, perhaps he can still be regarded as the true mastermind.
For my taste, the book is at its most compelling when Alex simply gushes about his love for wordplay and the peculiarities of language. Sadly, this means I was never more charmed than during the prologue, all about Alex's sickeningly precocious childhood obsession with anagrams, palindromes, and the like. Though a bit pretentious (he even admits as much), his enthusiasm is contagious, as long as you're also the nerdy, wordy sort. And if you're not, why would you consider reading this? Why are you even on this site??? It also provides a fascinating insight into Alex's peculiar sense of humo(u)r, which is naturally on full display here. In fact, one of the old stand-up gags he tosses in is the best/worst pun I've heard in some time. ("I've been very lonely ever since someone told me I was about as tall as a large flightless bird. I just felt very ostrich-sized!")
Unfortunately, books have to actually be about something, and that's where Wordwatching flounders a bit. On one
While I wouldn't say Wordwatching is a bad book by any means, I'd only recommend it to folks who are already fans, who have already gorged themselves on his other projects and could use a Little (more) Alex Horne in their lives. He's as funny and charming as ever, his love of words is infectious, and it's interesting to get a glimpse of the sorts of oddball projects he used to get up to, when he still had free time. With that being said, this would be far less compelling if you didn't already have a pre-existing fascination with the man and his work. From that perspective, the actual project is rather poorly thought out, with a thoroughly disappointing non-conclusion, and it's padded out with a bunch of asides about etymologies that even Alex himself admits are highly dubious at best. To be completely honest (and I am in fact honest to a fault, though just barely), there are many better books about words out there. But are they written by Alex Horne? I don't think so!
*Viewers of the also enjoyable New Zealand version of Taskmaster already know the pandemic was started by Madeleine Sami, but as this is an international adaptation of Alex Horne's own show, perhaps he can still be regarded as the true mastermind.
March 30, 2018
I think I changed my mind multiple times as to whether I really liked this or found it incredibly frustrating. At points it was really funny, and at others it was quite repetitive and overly self-indulgent, so a qualified success on balance.
I normally like the Danny Wallace style of a whimsical idea that takes a lot of time but doesn't really achieve a lot, and had thought that Horne's plan, to get a new word into the dictionary, had potential, while the book's timeline meant that this would at least have a proper conclusion after a few years of effort. On the one hand, Horne has a genuine interest in words that he has had for a long time, and acknowledges that he came across as pretentious when he was younger when he was enthusiastically quoting anagrams and palindromes even though he wasn't doing it just to look clever. On the other hand, he comes across as quite pretentious. He gives his partners in the project pseudonyms based on his favourite fonts, listed in individual fonts, but not necessarily the right one (eg Mr Goudy-Stout is in Goudy Old Style) which gives the impression this is the project of an insufferable Oxford student, and makes you roll your eyes.
The actual plot has its ups and downs too. At first, it is funny seeing the words honk, pratdigger, games, bollo and mental safari put into print or said on TV (including on Andrew Neil's politics show), however it feels like a list of uses by the end, and the same people saying the same words loses its novelty factor quite quickly. Alex's accounts of Countdown towards the end lift it and enable him to show his comedic flair, but much of the latter half is nothing more than an in-joke because no-one else uses these words. Having 'honest' as slang for fat is funny for those in the know, but if I said 'thirsty' was slang for 'horny', I'm sure there would be just as many funny instances in the media. As this isn't a memoir I'm guessing Alex developed some proper comedy too but you do fear that all of his television experience was wasted trying to shoehorn in pratdigger somewhere based on this book. As an aside, tkday is a horrible word and has rightly been shunned by the population at large, but 'games' had a solid private school feel to it and pratdigger was also a nice coinage.
The conclusion is a bit naff too, Alex putting slips of paper into library dictionaries with his words on seems a bit desperate, much like all in-jokes are only funny for those on the inside and seem silly to others. It was definitely worth reading, and it seems like Alex had fun doing this, so perhaps we're all winners. But he could have reduced the repetition a bit.
*Edit: in a remarkable coincidence, one of the next books I read has a fictional boat called "Bollo" so maybe some headway has been made, I genuinely checked to see if the author fit one of the chosen 10, but no.
I normally like the Danny Wallace style of a whimsical idea that takes a lot of time but doesn't really achieve a lot, and had thought that Horne's plan, to get a new word into the dictionary, had potential, while the book's timeline meant that this would at least have a proper conclusion after a few years of effort. On the one hand, Horne has a genuine interest in words that he has had for a long time, and acknowledges that he came across as pretentious when he was younger when he was enthusiastically quoting anagrams and palindromes even though he wasn't doing it just to look clever. On the other hand, he comes across as quite pretentious. He gives his partners in the project pseudonyms based on his favourite fonts, listed in individual fonts, but not necessarily the right one (eg Mr Goudy-Stout is in Goudy Old Style) which gives the impression this is the project of an insufferable Oxford student, and makes you roll your eyes.
The actual plot has its ups and downs too. At first, it is funny seeing the words honk, pratdigger, games, bollo and mental safari put into print or said on TV (including on Andrew Neil's politics show), however it feels like a list of uses by the end, and the same people saying the same words loses its novelty factor quite quickly. Alex's accounts of Countdown towards the end lift it and enable him to show his comedic flair, but much of the latter half is nothing more than an in-joke because no-one else uses these words. Having 'honest' as slang for fat is funny for those in the know, but if I said 'thirsty' was slang for 'horny', I'm sure there would be just as many funny instances in the media. As this isn't a memoir I'm guessing Alex developed some proper comedy too but you do fear that all of his television experience was wasted trying to shoehorn in pratdigger somewhere based on this book. As an aside, tkday is a horrible word and has rightly been shunned by the population at large, but 'games' had a solid private school feel to it and pratdigger was also a nice coinage.
The conclusion is a bit naff too, Alex putting slips of paper into library dictionaries with his words on seems a bit desperate, much like all in-jokes are only funny for those on the inside and seem silly to others. It was definitely worth reading, and it seems like Alex had fun doing this, so perhaps we're all winners. But he could have reduced the repetition a bit.
*Edit: in a remarkable coincidence, one of the next books I read has a fictional boat called "Bollo" so maybe some headway has been made, I genuinely checked to see if the author fit one of the chosen 10, but no.
September 28, 2021
A story of a man and his band of 'rare men' attempting to get a word in the dictionary.
I already loved Alex Horne before reading this and so it was really nice to learn more about him and what he used to get up to pre Taskmaster and the Horne Section!
A really funny but also really informative book. I loved how many origins of words and interesting language facts Alex has included whilst avoiding information overload by also including a lot of humour and tales from his life.
I already loved Alex Horne before reading this and so it was really nice to learn more about him and what he used to get up to pre Taskmaster and the Horne Section!
A really funny but also really informative book. I loved how many origins of words and interesting language facts Alex has included whilst avoiding information overload by also including a lot of humour and tales from his life.
May 14, 2022
To enjoy this book, it helps if you first like Alex Horne. Then, give it the patience and generosity that it deserves, though it also doesn't hurt if you already kind of like words and are a little bit nerdy about it. There'll probably be a moment or two where you'd like to stare bewilderingly at Alex, wondering, what the everloving hell are you talking about?? - but I do think that's also partly the point of the book.
Maybe it'd have been better as an audiobook?
Maybe it'd have been better as an audiobook?
September 4, 2015
Really enjoyed this. Great value for honk.
August 16, 2018
A great book for those who love words (and Alex Horne); worth the honk!!!
June 12, 2021
It was a bit bollo unfortunately
July 13, 2025
Man, I really wanted to like this because I love Taskmaster and I really find Alex Horne charming on that show... But this was a rough read for a lot of reasons:
-I get why he used so many footnotes and appendix notes - he's clearly very excited about the history of words and all of the weird little rabbit holes you can go down when you study etymologies and it makes sense to hide your tangent upon a tangent in a footnote - but man, all those disruptions make this book a headache to read. You can barely make it through a page without something interrupting the flow of the narrative! Its a defensible stylistic choice but it is not for me
-This is an interesting project and I wanted to root for him to get a word in the dictionary - but man, he picked such bad words. I mean "honk" is fine as a slang for money - but do we really need another synonym for 'cash'? We already have so many other words for that very thing! And ditto for "games" meaning "bad" - we already have so many ways to say that something sucks so why do we need another? And "pratdigger" sounds old fashioned and lame; it just doesn't have the sort of zip that a good modern putdown should have. And the word "bollo" just sounds stupid to me. They all felt like "fetch"-es that were just never gonna happen
-Alex Horne can be very funny.... when he has a partner to play off of. When Greg and Alex do their banter at the top of Taskmaster Greg almost always gets irritated at how Alex's 'jokes' are more clever than they are funny and how they very rarely have actual punchlines or payoffs. And Greg's right! Horne's sense of humor is so cerebral that it tends to be more interesting than it is hilarious. Which is fine in the show because Greg is standing next to him ready to put a cap on whatever bit Alex has dreamed up - but Alex is writing this book all by himself. Which means that this is a lot of clever observations without a lot of actual punchlines or payoffs or legitimate jokes. Which is just a little frustrating across three hundred pages...
I'm glad that Alex Horne found his true calling with Taskmaster - it is an incredible show and he is perfect on it - because I don't know that he was meant to be a stand up comedian or a writer of amusing memoirs. Wordwatching has a lot of interesting word histories in it, and it even has some fun bits in it if you're a Taskmaster super fan (the Victoria Coren-Mitchelle cameo was fun!), but it's central throughline is kind of underwhelming and it's jokes aren't particularly funny. (I don't really get why it's funny to say that a specific British newscaster that I've never heard of is six inches taller than they really are???)
-I get why he used so many footnotes and appendix notes - he's clearly very excited about the history of words and all of the weird little rabbit holes you can go down when you study etymologies and it makes sense to hide your tangent upon a tangent in a footnote - but man, all those disruptions make this book a headache to read. You can barely make it through a page without something interrupting the flow of the narrative! Its a defensible stylistic choice but it is not for me
-This is an interesting project and I wanted to root for him to get a word in the dictionary - but man, he picked such bad words. I mean "honk" is fine as a slang for money - but do we really need another synonym for 'cash'? We already have so many other words for that very thing! And ditto for "games" meaning "bad" - we already have so many ways to say that something sucks so why do we need another? And "pratdigger" sounds old fashioned and lame; it just doesn't have the sort of zip that a good modern putdown should have. And the word "bollo" just sounds stupid to me. They all felt like "fetch"-es that were just never gonna happen
-Alex Horne can be very funny.... when he has a partner to play off of. When Greg and Alex do their banter at the top of Taskmaster Greg almost always gets irritated at how Alex's 'jokes' are more clever than they are funny and how they very rarely have actual punchlines or payoffs. And Greg's right! Horne's sense of humor is so cerebral that it tends to be more interesting than it is hilarious. Which is fine in the show because Greg is standing next to him ready to put a cap on whatever bit Alex has dreamed up - but Alex is writing this book all by himself. Which means that this is a lot of clever observations without a lot of actual punchlines or payoffs or legitimate jokes. Which is just a little frustrating across three hundred pages...
I'm glad that Alex Horne found his true calling with Taskmaster - it is an incredible show and he is perfect on it - because I don't know that he was meant to be a stand up comedian or a writer of amusing memoirs. Wordwatching has a lot of interesting word histories in it, and it even has some fun bits in it if you're a Taskmaster super fan (the Victoria Coren-Mitchelle cameo was fun!), but it's central throughline is kind of underwhelming and it's jokes aren't particularly funny. (I don't really get why it's funny to say that a specific British newscaster that I've never heard of is six inches taller than they really are???)
August 20, 2024
Definitely less of a slog than birdwatchingwatching. Quite a few interesting factoids throughout (the origin of 'to turn a blind eye' is one that stood out to me in particular) and several interesting etymologies/definitions in the back of the book.
I definitely didnt see the ending of him asking the readers to photocopy(100 times), cut out, and hide the definitions of his words in any dictionary they come across after tearing the list out "with your teeth if necessary" at all.😆
Always a treat to discover old work of a new favorite comedian. Of course it's also often disappointing to discover the old stuff so late. There were quite a few quotes that definitely don't match up to the Little alex horne we know and love today... here's two of my favorites from page 171:
"Im ashamed about how uninterested i am in the running of the country. I just cant get excited by what seems to be a massive amount of admin"
"Because i dont do it very often i find appearing on television rather nerve-racking"
Lol, he's now been on taskmaster - one tv show of his own making for 10 years (in which one of the main running jokes is that he is in charge of admin- "eye-candy and admin" to quote season 2😂) and has filmed the second series of the horne section tv show along with many, many other appearances. I would love to read a memoir by current day LAH to compare to his old stuff.
Here's one more quote that made me laugh:
"...and at this point i admit i was ignoring the democratic aspect of the project and behaving like the egotistical megalomaniac behind the ultimately vainglorious self-important narcissistic project we all feared i might be" p178
I can't help but compare this (obviously self-deprecating, tongue in cheek) line to the line from Ed's(Horne section) lessons in humility song "alex turns it on for the show, but he's crippled by self-doubt..."
Of course I'll never know which is true- narcissistic megalomaniac or tortured soul. But I can't help but to romanticize and place on a pedestal anyone who dedicates their lives to making people laugh, who create happiness in spite of the shittiness of the world, who inspires creativity, joy, acceptance, self-confidence, positivity etc in others.
Shit LAH is basically the Mr. Rogers of comedy and I can't give higher praise than that 💜💜
I definitely didnt see the ending of him asking the readers to photocopy(100 times), cut out, and hide the definitions of his words in any dictionary they come across after tearing the list out "with your teeth if necessary" at all.😆
Always a treat to discover old work of a new favorite comedian. Of course it's also often disappointing to discover the old stuff so late. There were quite a few quotes that definitely don't match up to the Little alex horne we know and love today... here's two of my favorites from page 171:
"Im ashamed about how uninterested i am in the running of the country. I just cant get excited by what seems to be a massive amount of admin"
"Because i dont do it very often i find appearing on television rather nerve-racking"
Lol, he's now been on taskmaster - one tv show of his own making for 10 years (in which one of the main running jokes is that he is in charge of admin- "eye-candy and admin" to quote season 2😂) and has filmed the second series of the horne section tv show along with many, many other appearances. I would love to read a memoir by current day LAH to compare to his old stuff.
Here's one more quote that made me laugh:
"...and at this point i admit i was ignoring the democratic aspect of the project and behaving like the egotistical megalomaniac behind the ultimately vainglorious self-important narcissistic project we all feared i might be" p178
I can't help but compare this (obviously self-deprecating, tongue in cheek) line to the line from Ed's(Horne section) lessons in humility song "alex turns it on for the show, but he's crippled by self-doubt..."
Of course I'll never know which is true- narcissistic megalomaniac or tortured soul. But I can't help but to romanticize and place on a pedestal anyone who dedicates their lives to making people laugh, who create happiness in spite of the shittiness of the world, who inspires creativity, joy, acceptance, self-confidence, positivity etc in others.
Shit LAH is basically the Mr. Rogers of comedy and I can't give higher praise than that 💜💜
November 22, 2023
It's painful to admit, but Alex Horne's second book (after the quite charming Birdwatchingwatching) is irritating. Written well before he became famous for Taskmaster and the panel show circuit, Wordwatching is about a young comedian (we were all young once) trying to get words in the English dictionary. And maybe succeeding with one, sort of. But not really.
There's very little that's personal about this story, and the anecdotes don't really go anywhere. If Birdwatchingwatching was a meditation on what it meant to be a son and to prepare to be a father, coupled with interesting bird facts, Wordwatching is a comedian who would go on to bigger things talking at you about a pet subject that you may well share but in a way that's near impossible to engage with.
Wordwatching is only interesting if you want to see how far Alex Horne has come; it's hard to imagine how it was perceived at the time, other than the man trying to horn in on Susie Dent's racket.
There's very little that's personal about this story, and the anecdotes don't really go anywhere. If Birdwatchingwatching was a meditation on what it meant to be a son and to prepare to be a father, coupled with interesting bird facts, Wordwatching is a comedian who would go on to bigger things talking at you about a pet subject that you may well share but in a way that's near impossible to engage with.
Wordwatching is only interesting if you want to see how far Alex Horne has come; it's hard to imagine how it was perceived at the time, other than the man trying to horn in on Susie Dent's racket.
April 3, 2025
Let me preface this by saying that I love and respect Alex Horne but this book was not for me. I love words but even I found myself shaking my head and thinking that Alex is like a whole different category of nerd to me, like a supernerd. I guess this book shows how difficult it is to get a word in the dictionary. A lot of the time he came across as a bit desperate and the whole Countdown thing borders on obsession. I did learn some stuff but on the whole I preferred the Birdwatching book. That had a sweet component that it was for the love of his father and although Alex made it clear that this was inspired by his mother, it just felt a bit forced and contrived. I actually found the meeting people from every country who live in London project more interesting.
This will not change my opinion of Alex but wow... what a nerd *affectionate*
This will not change my opinion of Alex but wow... what a nerd *affectionate*
October 15, 2024
I was introduced to Horne’s TV show Taskmaster earlier this year and am a big fan, so I was excited to learn he’d previously written books, especially one on this subject (I was an English major in undergrad and love language, wordplay, and etymology). Horne’s writing loses something I can’t quite define over seeing him speak on screen (a bit moot stilted? Dry? I can’t put my finger on it exactly), but was still charming, witty, and definitely informative (though several friends more knowledgeable about linguistics and language history have warned me away from a couple of the sources he cites regularly, but most of them are fine). Overall this was a fun linguistic romp, and, while I wasn’t a fan of all of Horne and friends’ potential new words, I’ve added at least a couple of slang expressions to my vocabulary.
April 19, 2023
My second Alex Horne book. I’m a big taskmaster fan and can’t help but enjoy Alex’s work. Again, it’s lighthearted and whimsical and has a little bit of silliness it in. As noted in the blurb, it’s an attempt by Alex to get words into the dictionary, and I feel like I may remember one or two of them in the years to come.
I have to admit that I didn’t enjoy it as much as BirdWatchingWatching, and at the start I struggled to get momentum with the constant need to check the notes at the back of the book for the origins of words, as interesting as they were. But overall I enjoyed the book and it had some really entertaining moments.
I have to admit that I didn’t enjoy it as much as BirdWatchingWatching, and at the start I struggled to get momentum with the constant need to check the notes at the back of the book for the origins of words, as interesting as they were. But overall I enjoyed the book and it had some really entertaining moments.
November 29, 2022
This book is games, or lame. It's a bit bollo, or rubbish.
Alex Horne is a bit of a prattdigger, or jerk, for the way he promoted his made-up words, and so am I, for using aforesaid words.
I am glad that I didn't spend any of my hard-earned honk on this book.
I appreciate Horne's enthusiasm for words, but I just felt that this didn't work well as a book.
Luckily, his talents are better showcased in the show Taskmaster.
Alex Horne is a bit of a prattdigger, or jerk, for the way he promoted his made-up words, and so am I, for using aforesaid words.
I am glad that I didn't spend any of my hard-earned honk on this book.
I appreciate Horne's enthusiasm for words, but I just felt that this didn't work well as a book.
Luckily, his talents are better showcased in the show Taskmaster.
January 3, 2023
As a big fan of Alex Hornes work (Taskmaster, The Horne Section, NMJ) I just had to this book and it was definitely well spent honk. It is about him trying to get a word into the dictionary and all the different ways he tried to achieve this. It was a lot of fun and the personal anecdotes about his love for words, palindromes, anagrams etc. just made so much sense knowing his other work. Now I'm gonna try and get my paddles onto his first book Birdwatchingwatching!
July 20, 2025
At times it's hard to see where the story's going and it may drag on a little too long for some people. Yet I think Alex Horne is a clever man who writes in a way that you feel clever, by mentioning facts that you've may not heard of before. I am curious about picking up his other books like Birdwatchingwatching and his most recent one, The Last Pebble. I think his work is really worth taking a chance at, if (medium if) it fits you or not, that remains to be seen.
March 28, 2020
I am a fan of Alex Horne (love Taskmaster!). I really enjoyed the premise of this book, but it was too long for my tastes. I appreciate the research Horne did to augment the history of words in the book, though!
December 3, 2021
Horne's enthusiasm for words really shines through in this enjoyable book about a seemingly impossible challenge to get a word into the dictionary. At times silly, serious and sneaky I really enjoyed his anecdotes and history of words.
March 8, 2020
It gets better, even if it is not ~that~ interesting as a book. Helps we both love and respect susie dent I guess
August 29, 2021
I enjoyed the concept and loved the quirky writing (eg little surprise palindromes popping up here and there). Suffers slightly from the narrative not being sufficiently strong or compelling.
February 12, 2023
Enjoyable
October 25, 2024
A book that is worth your hard working honk.
November 12, 2024
Knowing Alex as a comedian and tv presenter now, I was surprised (but not that much, in a sense) to discover this book. I feel very disappointed that I didn’t see him in Countdown though…
January 3, 2025
just a tiny bit games im afraid
June 30, 2025
well worth spending your honk on
April 24, 2010
A B-list stand-up comedian and self proclaimed neologist, Alex Horne, records his attempts to introduce new words to the Oxford English Dictionary which he and his friends had coined. Words like bollo, pratdigger and mental safari. Suffice it to say by the book's end, the struggle is still going on for these words have yet to enter the lexicon.
Unfortunately, his attempt at introducing these new words bored me. I don't know why but it wasn't just interesting. Was it the words themselves? Or maybe since it was billed as a 'humour' book, I expected it to be, y'know....funny. It wasn't. Well, not to me at least. No wonder this guy is a B-list comedian.
The saving grace for this book are the many anecdotes concerning the origins of English words in common use today. If it wasn't for these, I'd give the book just 1 star.
Unfortunately, his attempt at introducing these new words bored me. I don't know why but it wasn't just interesting. Was it the words themselves? Or maybe since it was billed as a 'humour' book, I expected it to be, y'know....funny. It wasn't. Well, not to me at least. No wonder this guy is a B-list comedian.
The saving grace for this book are the many anecdotes concerning the origins of English words in common use today. If it wasn't for these, I'd give the book just 1 star.
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