Wordcatcher: An Odyssey into the World of Weird and Wonderful Words

by Phil Cousineau, Gregg Chadwick (Illustrator)

Who knew that the great country of Canada is named for a mistake? How about "bedswerver," the best Elizabethan insult to hurl at a cheating boyfriend? By exploring the delightful back stories of the 250 words in Wordcatcher, readers are lured by language and entangled in etymologies. Author Phil Cousineau takes us on a tour into the obscure territory of word origins with great erudition and endearing curiosity. The English poet W. H. Auden was once asked to teach a poetry class, and when 200 students applied to study with him, he only had room for 20 of them. When asked how he chose his students, he said he picked the ones who actually loved words. So too, with this book -- it takes a special wordcatcher to create a treasure chest of remarkable words and their origins, and any word lover will relish the stories that Cousineau has discovered.

Genres: Nonfiction, Language, Writing, Reference, History, Ebooks

201 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Phil Cousineau is a writer, teacher, editor, independent scholar, documentary filmmaker, travel leader, and storyteller. The author of more than 30 nonfiction books, Cousineau has more than 15 documentary screenwriting credits to his name, including the 1991 Academy Award-nominated Forever Activists. His life-long fascination with art, literature, and the history of culture has taken him on many journeys around the world; one of his bestselling books is The Art of Pilgrimage, inspired by his many years of meaningful travels.

Born in an army hospital in Columbia, South Carolina, Cousineau grew up in Detroit, and has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 30 years. American mythologist Joseph Campbell was a mentor and major influence; Cousineau wrote the documentary film and companion book about Campbell's life, "The Hero's Journey." The “omnipresent influence of myth in modern life” is a thread that runs through all of his work. He lectures frequently on a wide range of topics--from mythology, film, and writing, to sports, creativity, travel, art, and beauty. Currently he is the host of the much-praised “inner travel” television series, Global Spirit, on Link TV and PBS, and is finishing a book on beauty.

Reviews

[Cameron · Rating 1 out of 5]

For those of us who are nerds about words, this seems like a dream come true. The author treats the book like a dictionary of sorts, tracking the origin and etymology of several interesting, and not-so-interesting, words. As I thought, I was hooked by "Abracadabra" and started reading excitedly, even sharing some of the stories of weird words with friends. However, by the time I made my way to the "E"s, I was done. Only about one in every eight words actually have an interesting etymology behind them. And believe me, they are fascinating little tales, especially for word nerds like me. However, the other seven of the eight were not interesting at all. Let's take for example the word "Cool." There is no etymology given, no information of how the word found its way into popular discourse from its original meaning. There is simply a page and a half worth of smug definition of the word ("In the know, hip to the connotations...A-OK, hep, unworried, calm, relaxed...as in real gone, daddy, dig dong daddy, hepcat.." yeah, seriously) and several examples of famous people who once uttered the word "Cool" in some context. There is also the passage on "false friend" which does not describe etymology, but just lists about 30 or so examples of false friends. Each entry becomes so formulaic, it causes near automatic eye-rolling ("this word wanders its way to us like a dusty treasure" or something like that. Every. Time.) And even the interesting passages only have a few sentences that are interesting. The examples of usage are nothing but fluff. And Cousineau's self-seeming tounge-in-check backstories to different words seem as archaic and dated as some of the very words discussed, even to word nerds like me.

[Kevin Aston Hoey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Word Catcher, more like Word Wanker! The author gets so pent up and masturbatory about the words he has collected in this book that he goes beyond the prattle of those wine snobs who wax lyrical about a heady Bordeaux blend.

I was determined to finish this book just for the challange. The book cover talks about an 'odyssey...of weird and wonderfuk words' but the contents includes such exotic words as: 'aware', 'beauty', 'focus', 'happy', 'rebate' and 'travel'! Which would be ok if there was a strongly structured and interesting etymology (origin and evolution) of the words, plus evidence of different uses of the words over history. Unfortunately, you get largely unstructed disertations of word origins for less than half the words listed in the book. The rest of the time it is the author ruminating on the words and how he came upon them and why he likes them. Or, he provide sometimes wildly non-sequiturial factoids or statement about the words in question. Also about 90% are english words, which considering the author is from the US is reasonable, but one would think theis book would be the perfect opportunity to write about more mysterious and exciting non-english words and phrases.

The author also penultimately ends with a list of the top ten 'most beautiful' words sourced from a poll done by the British Council in 2004. The words include 'love', 'smile' and 'mother'. The list suggests that the people taking the poll didn't answer it correctly as these words describe beautiful THINGS but aren't necessarily beautiful WORDS in their own right and therefore the list could have been left out of the book. Beautiful words should look and/or sound beautiful. Some of my favourite words are: 'aviatrix', 'primordial', 'murmur', 'reciprocity' and 'zephyr'.

Finally the book is 305 pages not 202 as suggested by Goodreads.

[Yaaresse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phil Cousineau is probably best known for his documentary films, but he's also a guy who likes to collect words. This book is a collection of favorite words he has 'caught" over the years with some history about them and a lot of rambly free-associative thought. I don't know how "weird" they are since there were only a handful I wasn't familiar with, but Cousineau's list reminds us that words can be fun (dastardly, kerfuffle, bamboozle), fascinating (eldritch, kibosh, cant) and gorgeous (gossamer, numinous, zephyr) And when we American/English speakers don't have a word that fits our need, our language is so flexible that we can easily adopt and adapt from other languages. Prime examples the author includes are two of my favorite borrowed words, lagniappe and saudade

Of course the list isn't exhaustive in either selection or explanation of each word, but that wasn't the point of the book. It's simply a nod of appreciation to how rich and interesting language can be. It's for those of us who must stifle an urge to do bodily harm when forced into close quarters with those whose vocabulary is limited to text speak, declarations of every little thing as "awesome!" and who reduce the once scandalous and diabolical f-bomb to the equivalent of a verbal tic. (Seriously, I recently was in a public restroom and heard a woman repeatedly and enthusiastically praise her kid's successful use of the toilet as "awesome." A bit much, don't you think? I wasn't sure whether to be terrified or impressed by the kid's prodigious poopitude.)

Trying to read this straight through can get monotonous. The enjoyment quotient increases by reading only an entry or two at a time, which allows for plotting how to work the word into a conversation.

[Sharry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little gem of a book is a must-own for every writer, reader, word and language lover. It's charming, highly informative and evokes a sense of awe and gratitude for the richness of the journey our words have traveled.

[Laura-nassidesa Eschbaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes an ordinary word like murmur and opens up a new vista for the reader. There are new words, words borrow from other languages, as well as words you think you know. Excellent source book but also a great read.

[Carla]

listed on NPR's best of 2010 books list, http://www.npr.org/2010/12/10/1317881...

[Kogiopsis]

Read as part of my ongoing shelf audit. Verdict: DNF at page 56 (end of the B section).

I had hoped for interesting etymology, drawing connections between modern words which seem separate but have shared roots, or for a focus on rarely used parts of the English language. Instead, Cousineau decided he needed to elaborate on words like 'academy' and beauty', and remind me multiple times in 56 pages that he wrote part of this book staying at a cabin formerly inhabited by Ansel Adams. Ooh, very impressive. Much prestige.

I'm delighted that another review has already referred to this as 'masturbatory' because that's exactly what I was thinking. This idea could have made a fun series of blog posts (maybe a little Friday snack in addition to weekly serious content) or, y'know, a Buzzfeed listicle or three. As a book, though, it feels like Cousineau was under contract and slapped something together last-minute. I have learned more interesting things about language from random Tumblr posts.

(as an aside, anyone who was intrigued by the concept of this book may find this list of false cognates interesting!)

[Marilee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book for people that like words. The author has been collecting interesting words and their origins for years and shares his favorites. This is not a book to read through in one sitting. It's better to take a sip here and there so the words stick a little more. I was thinking about giving it three stars, but it had a "So I Married an Axe-Murderer" reference cappuccino that bumped it up a star.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting! I read a few words each day! I liked his reference to authors, such a Mark Twain, who used the words, and also his research as to when and where the word first appeared.

[Kathryn Theulen dailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Wordsmyth"
Would you listen to Wordcatcher again? Why?
Yes I enjoyed listening to where different words have come from.

Have you listened to any of Jack Chekijian’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Jack has an amazing voice. I enjoy listening to his voice. It is very manly and interesting.

Any additional comments?
This is the 1st book I've listened to by Phil Cousineau. His love of words and their origins are very interesting.

I completely enjoyed this book. I love to learn new weird information for myself and something new to chit chat about. This was a fun book for me. I thought it was very interesting to listen to the narrator tell us when and where a word was from and how it has been used. I thought several were humorous the author made this a enjoyable book for us the readers/listeners.
Only a true word lover could take us through history by the way of one word at a time. I would listen to this book again.

This is one of several audio's I've listened to narrated by Jack Chekijian. I very much enjoy listening to his voice. He is very clear and lively when speaking.

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave up on this book in the As. This was my 1st book from the public library via Overdrive and I grabbed it as potentially interesting when we went to a training session at SCPL on how to get and use audiobooks from Overdrive/SCPL. No, this was not an audiobook version; it was print.

I ended up letting my checkout expire before writing this despite my intentions so my specific dislikes are going to be hard to frame. Bottom line, you might like it. I just found his style not to my liking. That is probably my biggest complaint. Also, it is pop etymology, which honestly can be decent enough, but seeing how much issue there is even with serious etymology one must be careful.

You might like it. I did not like his style and I gave up really early in the book.

[Lesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really interesting. I really enjoyed learning the origins of these words. It makes for interesting dinner party conversations too. I did skip over a few; the foreign language entries didn't really interest me. There were several words in here that I had never heard before, so I definitely learned a lot from reading this book. I have its sequel also (The Painted Word: A Treasure Chest of Remarkable Words and Their Origins) and look forward to reading it sometime.

[Medh · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm listening to this book rather than reading it but the narration is simply awful. I didn't pay attention at the beginning so I'm not sure if the narrator is the author. If it is, then bad mistake on his part- it's so monotonous to verge on the soporific. There is no modulation to speak of, it might as be a robot.

And choice of words is random, some are interesting and have a good b/g but many are just bleh. Granted it's the author's choice but when you write a book for others you should consider what they might find interesting too, no?

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A verbally illustrated compendium of only 250 chosen words not simply defined and contextualized, but expanded and expounded upon. Where did it come from? How has it been used? Who has used it in a way that has made it noteworthy in some fashion? Listen to this exploration of verbosity performed by the dependably articulate Narrator Jack. His well-modulated voice gives life and variety to this presentation.
This book was a gift to a bibliophile.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

- dastardly; a varmint of an adjective, a villainous word dressed up
in a black hat and handlebar mustache, signaling cowardly,
ignoble behavior.
- panache; effortless style, easy swagger.
- enigma; a secret, a riddle, a shadowy saying, a puzzling person.


I love words.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I quit. Sometimes stuff really is better in blog format. It was nice and all but I just don't care about what Phil cares about that much, even if I really do like words and like reading about them. There isn't any etymology or philology here. It's just words and why Phil personally likes them. I quit before I got to B, y'all.

[Claudia Andersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great little book to browse through, read random word origins. Each word has a story, a historical reference, a context & culture. I gave up reading cover to cover but find I keep picking it up for more....for lovers of words.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was enjoyable and I kept it on hand for short time periods where I could read. the format is perfect for that- each word with a half-page story behind its origin. I will keep this for a reference guide.

[Deedra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very interesting and fun to read.Jack Chekijian is a fine narrator for this book.Learning the origins behind words is fascinating.You'll love this book!
I was given this book free for an honest review.

[Stephanie]

I heard this author on "New Dimensions". Can't wait to read!

[Ladiibbug]

Rec: Donna Brooks in email "NPR.org: Indie Booksellers' Best of 2010 Books"

[Hanan · Rating 2 out of 5]

a Simple dictionary for words chosen by the author. I think that some words have not got enough and full definitions. The organization of words in the book was so boring.

[Juli]

Loved it

[Giada Da Ros]

.