The Superior Person's Book of Words
by Peter Bowler
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 June, 1985)
list price: $15.95 -- our price: $10.85
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Reviews (11)

Very good book by Aussie author
I have enjoyed and used this book for many years. It is a marvellous source of strange, bizarre, obsolete and very useful words. The word 'facinorous' is probably one of the most useful - especially for describing modern right wing politicians and CEOs.

This book is not jejune in any way. Peter Bowler is one Australia's finest sons!

If only the pronunciation was included...
I was thrilled when I found this book. I have enjoyed it immensely.

However, when learning new words to try out on friends, it strikes me that I'd like to be sure I'm pronouncing them correctly. Nothing like using a fabulous new word, only to mispronounce it. Peter, if you are out there - I'm faithfully awaiting a revision that includes the phonetic pronunciation of each word. Cheers!

You, too can learn charientisms in your spare time!
I could feast all day on a book of fine words.To me, words have colors, flavors and textures.They roll around the tongue like savory morsels, each distinct.There is an art to combining them, much as there is an art to marrying flavors in haute cuisine.Sometimes a chef is adamant about a certain spice or food element for his special dish, as only that one will do to complete a complex palate.In the same way, I will search carefully for just the right word to complete my thoughts.It is a labor of love.

The Superior Person's Book of Words is just the thing if your dictionary proves uninspiring.Not only will you find just what you are looking for, but the entertaining and wry wit employed in the definitions will sally the keen reader upon new directions insassy verbal repartee.Many of the listings are invaluable as veiled insults, and the author frequently highlights these with sample usage sentences.My only comment on that is, living with Peter Bowler must be like living with Oscar Wilde.

There are *some* pedestrian listings thrown in, presumably as padding.Or maybe they are intended as mollifiers for the "inferior" readers?In any case, words such as "heterosexual", "pastime" and "impalement" hardly count as tidbits for the esoteric lexicographer in my opinion.Thankfully, they are relatively few.

The best part of this book though is the way the author words the definitions.Some examples:
Papuliferous.Pimply. Typical condition of a groak.
Groak.One who stands around while others eat, in the hope that he will be invited to join in.A good name for a female relative's boyfriend.
Nugatory.Of no value, trifling, insubstantial, pointless.Unfavorable criticism of the present book could properly be so characterized.

Now how could you not adore a "dictionary" like this?
-Andrea, aka Merribelle ... Read more

Isbn: 087923556X
Sales Rank: 119813
Subjects:  1. Alphabet    2. English language    3. Glossaries, vocabularies, etc    4. Language    5. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    6. Vocabulary   

The Superior Person's Third Book of Well-Bred Words
by Peter Bowler, Dennis Corrigan
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 October, 2001)
list price: $16.95 -- our price: $11.53
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Reviews (1)

fun
i thought this was gonna be the stuffy book of fancy words.... not so.it's really fun.i bought it for a friend, and read it first.enjoyed it. ... Read more

Isbn: 1567921612
Sales Rank: 220530
Subjects:  1. Dictionaries    2. English language    3. Glossaries, vocabularies, etc    4. Language    5. Language Arts & Disciplines    6. Reference    7. Vocabulary    8. Word Lists   

The Superior Person's Second Book of Weird and Wondrous Words
by Peter Bowler, Ron Bell
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 June, 1992)
list price: $15.95 -- our price: $10.85
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Reviews (2)

Are You A Gynotikolobomassophile?
I learned a lot from this wonderful book, which was a well-considered Christmas gift from my extremely exoptable best friend. One thing I learned is that I am rather devoted to gynotikolobomassophilia, as long as it is with the right person, of course! Unfortunately, on the down side, I occasionally suffer from bouts of onychophagy when under stress. (Sometimes I bite my nails.)

This book is an absolute treasure trove of exotic vocabulary. Prior to reading this book, I knew what maybe ten percent of these words meant. To say that I have been enlightened and broadened is somewhat of an understatement. I did not know, for instance, that "fabiform" means "bean-shaped." Likewise I was surprised to discover that "interbastation," which sounds positively naughty, actually means "quilting."

Also amusing to me is the discussion of the typeface, a normally boring affair. Perhaps one reason I liked this book so much is because it is set in Galliard, "a type of solid weight, it possesses authentic sparkle that is lacking in most current Garamonds."

This is a great book. The entries are universally witty and obscure, and will be sure to please the bibliophile in your life. I could not recommend this book more highly.

Fun, but not always wondrous
Bowler has compiled another interesting collection of words, with amusing commentary on them.While there is some repetition of common-root words (e.g., morology, morosis), and not all of these words seem particularlyarcane (e.g., natatorium, zeitgeist), this book would be of use to theRUPTUARY aspiring to TAPINOSIS, and enjoyable for the rest of us. ... Read more

Isbn: 087923928X
Sales Rank: 202298
Subjects:  1. Alphabet    2. English language    3. General    4. Glossaries, vocabularies, etc    5. Language    6. Reference    7. Vocabulary   

The Word Lover's Dictionary: Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words
by Josefa Heifetz
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 March, 1996)
list price: $12.95 -- our price: $10.36
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Reviews (5)

More Than 6,000 Unusual Words In A Fun Dictionary
This book is just great, fun and educational to use. It is also published in hardcover as ISBN #1567315542. It is also published with the title of "Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary." This dictionary is most definately undiscovered since it's sales ranking would be much higher if more persons were aware of it.

Inside of this dictionary is an entire galaxy of more than six thousand of the most unusual words. In spite of this fact, you will have heard of many of the words and even have used a few of them in everyday communication.

To wet your appetite here are 15 of the words out of the dictionary and clues as to their meanings. Enjoy!

oxymoron(something is terribly nice)
paladin(think of the TV show)
krill(whale food)
kopophobia(too tired)
cwm(word is in all of the Mt. Everest books)
gyneolatry(you have her on a pedestal)
fungible(interchangeable)
rectopathic(thin skinned)
tardigrade(think of a snail)
oread(nymph)
oology(produced by a bird)
rompworthy(lucky you)
pyrrhotism(what is red?)
gynophobia(what are you afraid of?)
pyrolagnia(you and your lover are sitting by the fireplace)

This dictionary favors forgotten words but words too useful to be forgotten. All words can be found in one or more major english dictionaries.

For every logolept and logophile
Suffering from lethologica?Then look no further.This book contains definitions for some of the most fascinating, useful, yet obscure English words.And yes, every word in this book is indeed an English word.You will find no neologisms by Heifetz in this wonderful work for wordsmiths.Find out how powerful and vast the English language really is.Read this book; expand your mind.

True to its title. You have to love words to love this book.
This 264 page book has over SIX THOUSAND words all of which are definitely unusual and obscure. I didn't find any preposterous words though:-) I recently bought this book so I can't use the words from the book in this review yet. But I wanted to share a few thoughts and observations about the book.

The first thing I did before buying the book was to see how many of the words I was unfamiliar with. You see, I had once gone through the entire Collins English Language Dictionarycover to cover (not the pocket version, the one with over 70,000 words). It's not important to this review why I did such an insane thing as read a dictionary cover to cover. More importantly, because of this background, I figured that I should find very few words in this Word Lover's Dictionary that I had not run across in my life before. I was in for a surprise! I scanned 3 whole pages and to my utter shock, I didn't find a single word that I had seen before! This amazed me so much that I immediately purchased a copy of the book.

The second thing I did was to get on the Internet to see how many words would show up in their search engine. I was even more surprised when I found that out of 10 consecutive words that I randomly picked from the book, only 3 showed up as valid! Of course, this doesn't mean that these words don't exist, it just means that you need to go to the Unabridged version of some English language dictionary to find them. Since the Unabridged versions are premium services on most sites, I didn't check to see how the 10 words would fare on those sites. But I wouldn't be surprised if you have to go to quite a few sites to find all the words. The author does admit that you would have to look through many Unabridged dictionaries to actually find some of these words.

Some interesting facts about words in the English language. There are approximately 600,000 words in the English language and most of these words are related to Science and Technology. Of these, a majority are biological or chemical terms to be more precise. They also happen to be nouns referring to the thousands of chemicals, bacteria, plants & animals, etc. Leaving these nouns to the side, there are less than 100,000 words that we could possibly use in our daily communications unless we are in those highly specialized fields of Science and Technology. So, most Abridged dictionaries contain anywhere between 30,000 and 70,000 words and you would actually have to go to the Unabridged versions to find the rest of the usable words. The author has collected 6,000 of the most unusual and obscure of these other 30,000 words to present to the reader. It is a truly REMARKABLE effort indeed!

Bottom line, if you love words, get this book. Don't even hesitate. I haven't regretted my purchase since I got my copy. Every week, I plan on spending a few minutes going through these pages. I know I will thoroughly enjoy the experience (as I have so far). I hope you do too :-) ... Read more

Isbn: 0806517204
Sales Rank: 74852
Subjects:  1. Dictionaries    2. Dictionaries - General    3. English language    4. Reference   

The Endangered English Dictionary: Bodacious Words Your Dictionary Forgot
by David Grambs
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 August, 1997)
list price: $13.95 -- our price: $10.46
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

Sometimes it seems that there are as many collections of archaic words as there are archaic words. Most of them are amusing in their own esoteric sort of way, but few aim for more than entertainment value. David Grambs watches over words gone (or going) by in the same way that the National Wildlife Federation watches over grizzly bears and timber wolves. He would like his readers to think of his Endangered English Dictionary as "a constant reminder of the words that could have been, that fell through the cracks. Or--" he challenges, "if you and enough others make imaginative use of this book--that still could become part of our everyday usage." Toward this goal, Grambs has chosen "common-use, nontechnical words," and he has arranged his book as a two-way dictionary.

So if you are looking for a compact way to describe something--a flower, say--that smells strongest at night, try "noctuolucent." If you were a delicate blossom, or even a whole "tuzzymuzzy" (a bunch of flowers), you too might wish to avoid the "sizzard" (unbearably humid heat) of summer days. --Jane Steinberg ... Read more

Reviews (5)

I could do without Bodacious
With the exception of the word "bodacious" (perhaps because a Chicago radio personality called himself "Bodacious So-and-So", and I found him annoying beyond measure, this is a terrific book.It's strength is that it has a reverse glossary, so that it functions, in a way, as a thesaurus. If you want an archaic word that pertains to acting, you'd never find it without a reverse glossary. With it, you find "roscian". Roscius was a roman actor who died around 67 bc, so "roscian" refers to certain styles of acting that reflect his emotive techniques.

Also, just flipping through the pages is fun. You find words jump out at you.

sizzard: unbearably humid heat
eupsychics: good education
cymotrichous: having wavy hair

Most importantly, the author uses the word in a sentence fragment, so that we know not only its definition, but its intended usage.

You're not going to like this
No more recommendations for weird dictionaries, no more please, it's more than anyone would ever want to own! Each week, it's another one, it get's boring and would bore anyone else who kept this crazy dictionary language up! Alittle is good, too many bodacious words would make you the bore of the ball!

Some Great Words
This is a great book for finding some of the most colorful and intersting words you will ever hear.The problem with learning the words is that some of them are so articlate and descriptive yet no one will understand you when you use them. This of course can lead to bouts of frustration. What a shame to have such great words yet not be able to use them.
The book is very accessible and readible due to the larger type size, nice font and cogent definitions.
Now for a personal note to anyone who wants to read on:I bought this book while in Graduate School at Andrews University in MI.I was taking the most boring of all boring classes being instructed by a teacher who was pulled in at the last minute to teach a class he knew nothing about.While the boring lectures continued day after day as so many cars on a train I read this book cover to cover and made note cards of all the interesting words.Now I have easy access to all the words that struck me most. And for amusement during certain verbivorous moments I like to review and ponder. ... Read more

Isbn: 0393316068
Subjects:  1. Aureate terms    2. Dictionaries    3. Dictionaries - General    4. English language    5. General    6. Obsolete words    7. Reference   

Forgotten English
by Jeffrey Kacirk
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (03 March, 1999)
list price: $12.95 -- our price: $9.71
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

Some think that the obsolescing of words from the English language is a sorryindication of its constant decline. Not so, argues Jeffrey Kacirk, the author of thischarming collection of quirky antiquated words and the stories behind them. "Infact," he writes in his introduction, "the richness and maturity of a languagemay be gauged by the volume and quality of words it can afford to lose." Thewonderful sounds these forgotten words make--nimgimmer, tup-running, mocteroof,frubbish, grog-blossom, wayzgoose, galligaskin, sockdolager--are half the fun. Theirfabulous meanings, particularly those that seem inevitable once you learn them, make upthe rest. And as the history of the words unfolds, so does history itself. Among the manystrange and outmoded folk Kacirk introduces are the bird-swindler, a 19th-century"purveyor of expensive, exotic-looking birds that, upon closer inspection,were found to be one of several common varieties of local birds that had been trimmedand dyed"; the eye-servant, "a devious domestic or other employee ...who was too lazy to efficiently perform duties except when 'within eyeshot' of his or hermaster"; the prickmedainty, a 16th-century "man-about-town whocoifed himself in an overly careful manner, frequently seeking the services of hisbarber"; and the dog-flogger, "a minor church official ... whose dutyit was to supervise and discipline the unruly canines that traditionally accompanied theirowners to English church services." ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Fun, but does NOT contain words that you can use every day
I actually purchased the day calendar that was produced from this book by Jeffrey Kacirk. The information he provides about each word is fascinating and wonderful!However, this is a book full of words that are forgotten for a reason...they are no longer of much use to those living in our times! Some could be used, but most refer to things that are no longer in use, or to issues or items that we no longer have knowledge of.For instance, there are many words that refer to horses as a means of transportation--since we rarely use them in this manner, the words are not functional for our society.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in history or etymology, but not to those who, like me, are looking for words to add to their current vocabulary.I enjoy the information, but that enjoyment is soured by my dissapointment in not finding words that I can actually use from day to day.

Perfection
Not one to read in large portions, this
unique book is absolutely recommended to anyone
who loves the English language.
Mr. Kacirk has done a wonderful service
to Anglophiles and 's virtues
are many. He takes each word separately; gives
a brief historical description; adds a few excerpts
from where the word was used; and polishes it off
with a lovely line illustration (printed in green ink which
makes for a perfect contrast to the black ink of
the text) to give a visual referent to sharpen the
reader's focus. I've seen other books similar
to this ( is an example) but
they usually give you long lists or unnecessary
variations and such, that frankly are tiresome
to read. Not so with , which has
been delivered with perfection. Another
strong point about Kacirk is that
he is a humble man who doesn't
try to wow you with clever anecdotes and provocative
statements, a tendency which mars the work
of Bill Bryson, in his book.
This one is superbly laid out, and a joy to
thumb through (but do it slowly -- quality before quantity)
and should provide no end of joy and satisfaction.

A Very Enjoyable Read....
Received my copy yesterday and am very impressed with the uncommon wealth of ancestral language! After only 30 minutes of reading I purchased a 2nd copy for a family member --didn't want to keep this treasure a secret! Entertaining and educational. Highly recommended!!! ... Read more

Isbn: 0688166369
Subjects:  1. English language    2. Etymology    3. General    4. Glossaries, vocabularies, etc    5. Linguistics    6. Obsolete words    7. Reference    8. Word Lists    9. Reference / Curiosities & Wonders   

The Oxford Dictionary of Difficult Words
by Archie Hobson
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (15 December, 2001)
list price: $28.95 -- our price: $28.95
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Reviews (2)

Not for the well-read or well-educated
I couldn't agree more with the previous reviewer. This dictionary had a great premise, but fell far short in the execution.

I would expect to see some words included that are often misused, such as "affect" and "effect". But "Gentile", "civil", or "rotund"? There are a number of words that I can understand being included, if only for their similarity to other words (as above) or because the are actually foreign words (nom de guerre, for example). But most of the words included are not particularly confusing, much less difficult.

The good thing? The definitions are clearly worded.

In a nutshell, there's a reason my local library has it shelved in the juvenile section. For them, it would be a dictionary of difficult words. Advice: peruse it first. See if the majority of the words are truly difficult for the user.

Definitely Not An Ineluctable Dictionary
What a brilliant idea this was: publish a relatively small dictionary that defines the difficult words, and eliminates words like "cat", "mouse" and "dog". Ineed never again plod over to the bookshelf and drag down one of the two hefty volumes of my Oxford Shorter Dictionary.

Well was I surprised. I decided to give it a test run using the book I was currently reading as a source for words to look up. Indeed "cat" and "mouse" are not to be found in this dictionary, but neither are "juridical", "ineluctable", "sibylline" andjust about every other lesser used word that I came across in my reading. What the Oxford Dictionary of Difficult Words (ODDW) does is take a slice out of the middle, so to speak: no simple words, and yet no really difficult words. The sample words that I used above ARE to be found in my Oxford Pocket American Dictionary, a book of about the same physical size as the ODDW. Here are some so called difficult words that are found in the ODDW: "absolute", "intelligence", "privilege", and "anxious". If you find those words to be difficult then maybe this should be your choice.

This might be a good selection for a middle or high school student, but, in my opinion, is of no value to an adult who is a fairly avid reader of non-fiction. Not recommended. ... Read more

Isbn: 0195146735
Sales Rank: 683455
Subjects:  1. Dictionaries    2. Dictionaries - General    3. English Language Dictionaries    4. English language    5. Reference    6. Usage   

The Highly Selective Dictionary For The Extraordinarily Literate
by Eugene H. Ehrlich
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (02 July, 1997)
list price: $17.00 -- our price: $11.56
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

In The Highly Selective Dictionary for the Extraordinarily Literate, Eugene Ehrlich pulls no punches about his intent. This book and its companion, The Highly Selective Thesaurus for the Extraordinarily Literate, are prescriptive rather than descriptive, dedicated to recording language as it should be rather than how it often is. In the preface, Ehrlich announces that he means his book to be an "antidote" to the "effects wrought by the forces of linguistic darkness"--meaning, of course, all lexicographers more permissive than he is. That said, Ehrlich's conservative approach handily disposes of many thorny usage problems. The entry for "effectual," for example, distinguishes between "effective" and "effectual" in a concise and utterly persuasive way: "...a law that is effective--operative, in effect--becomes effectual--answers its purpose--only when the law is enforced."

This is not your ordinary dictionary; Ehrlich thinks that defining everyday words with commonly accepted meanings is a massive waste of time. Instead, he concentrates on unusual words or those that present interesting problems. The result is a fascinating dictionary that can be read cover to cover, like a book; do so and your vocabulary may never be the same again. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Interesting little book
This is an interesting little book, but not an entirely useful one - unless, that is, you're the type of person who would sit in an armchair on Sunday afternoons reading the dictionary. If you are, this is the perfect book for you. If you're not, then this little book merely contains some words that your abridged Webster's doesn't, but that the Oxford English Dictionary (which is available by subscription online) does.

Some of the words included in the dictionary surprised me, as I thought they were rather commonplace: rationale; Adonis; forthwith; talisman, and many others.

Still, I do enjoy thumbing through the pages from time to time, discovering obscure words with greater ease than I would if I were perusing the twenty-volume Oxford English Dictionary that sits atop the hutch on my desk.

One other thing the book does is take common words that are misused, such as tortuous, and "set us straight" as to its real definition.

I think that this book would have been more useful - as opposed to simply being an interesting little reference book - if it had been divided perhaps into two sections: Words That Are Misused", and "Words For People Who Want To Appear Extraordinarily Literate". Yes, there was a touch of derision in the latter title; it's very difficult to imagine working most of these words into conversation, much less a term paper, essay, short story, novel, or a longer work of non-fiction. Why? Because if you use a word that people don't understand, you lose your reader. And as a writer, that's the very last thing you want to do.

As long as you don't try to use most of these words, it's a terrific little book.

Not your typical dictionary
This is a great book but not quite what I expected. It is more like a book you would use to study vocabulary for the SATs than a traditional dictionary. There aren't that many words listed and I don't think you would have much luck looking up words -- you are not likely to find your word unless it is one of the few included. But the book offers some fascinating words and is better suited to learning new vocabulary, probably best done by reading it cover to cover. If you're not the type to read a dictionary, you won't care for this book.

A Unique and Useful Compilation for College Students
Sometimes it is wise not to judge a book by its title. I suggest that you ignore the elitist title and concentrate on its contents. The Highly Selective Dictionary for the Extraordinary Literate is a useful compilation, a helpful tool for college students.

Eugene Ehrlich offers only those words that you are likely to reference in a dictionary.Simple words are not listed. For example, none of the words that I used in this review can be found in his selective dictionary. Likewise, those 500,000 words in the English language that are rarely used are not included in this book. Ehrlich's words inhabit a borderland separating those words we already know and those words that we will never need to know.

Did he get it right? Well, it depends on the geographic position of your particular borderland. I offer you some empirical data.

I am reading for the first time The Way of the World, an early eighteenth century play by William Congreve. I found only two troublesome words (billingsgate and nonpariel) in the editor's 12-page introduction. Ehrlich provided clear, concise definitions for both words.

Previously I reviewed a rather scholarly work, The Odes of John Keats, by Helen Vendler, a respected literature professor at Harvard. I scanned a random chapter (Ode to a Nightingale, 32 pages) and found synecdoche, antiphonal, discarnate, mimetic, solipsistic, and efficacious. Only the words antiphonal and discarnate were not in Ehrlich's dictionary.

I looked at random pages in Ehrlich's dictionary, tested myself, and concluded that for about one-fourth of the entries I would have trouble offering an acceptable definition, even with some help from contextual clues. I listed below three typical pages from Ehrlich's dictionary:

We find on page 67 the words existentialism, exoteric (do not confuse with esoteric), expatiate, expiate, explicate, and expostulate,

and on page 111 is mimesis (and mimetic), minatory, misanthrope, miscegenation, miscreant, misogamy, misogyny, misprision, and mitigate (sometimes confused with militate),

and lastly on page 164 there is sophistry, soporific, sororicide, soubrette, soupcon, specious, splenetic, spoonerism, and squash (as contrasted with quash).

I originally bought this dictionary to help my daughter prepare for the GRE. Having devoted some time to browsing this fascinating compilation, I now hope that she will not forget to return Ehrlich's dictionary to me. ... Read more

Isbn: 0062701908
Subjects:  1. Dictionaries    2. Dictionaries - General    3. English Language Dictionaries    4. English language    5. Errors    6. Errors of usage    7. General    8. Language    9. Reference    10. Synonyms and antonyms    11. Language Arts & Disciplines / General