An idiosyncratic collection of (fairly) uncommon and pleasing words, 17 Mar 2008
When I saw this advertised, I felt slightly ashamed that I had no idea what a `philavery' was.... It turns out I needn't have worried: the word was invented specifically to describe this book: "Philavery /fil-a-vuh-ri/ n. an idiosyncratic collection of uncommon and pleasing words."

The book is the result of years of word collecting by the author, Christopher Foyle, chairman of the famous Foyles bookshop in London. The `uncommoness' of the words included in the volume is defined by Foyle; as such many words in the philavery are familiar to me. Indeed, he states in the introduction that the US commander of the first Gulf War described information with little value as "bovine scatology". The author admits he had to refer to a dictionary to discover the meaning of scatology, which surprised me as I would not personally consider it an unusual word. The same goes for fabiform, exsanguinate, factitious, chino and countless more. Some words, such as `halcyon', were included not because they are particularly unfamiliar, but because of their fascinating etymologies.

In all, this would make a great gift with its attractive design and quality of production. And whilst the criteria for inclusion in the philavery seems somewhat spurious, and certainly subjective, this is a 230-page book full of obscure, quirky, fun, poignant words, so even if you know some of them already, there is still plenty to delight and inform word lovers.

A delight, 06 Nov 2007
This is great fun for those who are interested in unusual words, even though there is, I think, a slight padding out. By my reckoning at least, some ten words out of the 105 listed here beginning with the letter A are not really all that unusual. But this must be a somewhat subjective judgment. Some 73 of the words under A I had never come across, and that's a pretty good score for this beautifully produced book. Would make a lovely present for a philaveryphile!

An idiosyncratic collection of (fairly) uncommon and pleasing words, 17 Mar 2008
When I saw this advertised, I felt slightly ashamed that I had no idea what a `philavery' was.... It turns out I needn't have worried: the word was invented specifically to describe this book: "Philavery /fil-a-vuh-ri/ n. an idiosyncratic collection of uncommon and pleasing words."

The book is the result of years of word collecting by the author, Christopher Foyle, chairman of the famous Foyles bookshop in London. The `uncommoness' of the words included in the volume is defined by Foyle; as such many words in the philavery are familiar to me. Indeed, he states in the introduction that the US commander of the first Gulf War described information with little value as "bovine scatology". The author admits he had to refer to a dictionary to discover the meaning of scatology, which surprised me as I would not personally consider it an unusual word. The same goes for fabiform, exsanguinate, factitious, chino and countless more. Some words, such as `halcyon', were included not because they are particularly unfamiliar, but because of their fascinating etymologies.

In all, this would make a great gift with its attractive design and quality of production. And whilst the criteria for inclusion in the philavery seems somewhat spurious, and certainly subjective, this is a 230-page book full of obscure, quirky, fun, poignant words, so even if you know some of them already, there is still plenty to delight and inform word lovers.

A delight, 06 Nov 2007
This is great fun for those who are interested in unusual words, even though there is, I think, a slight padding out. By my reckoning at least, some ten words out of the 105 listed here beginning with the letter A are not really all that unusual. But this must be a somewhat subjective judgment. Some 73 of the words under A I had never come across, and that's a pretty good score for this beautifully produced book. Would make a lovely present for a philaveryphile!

A vade-mecum for logodaedali, 01 Oct 2008
You are lucky if you can rejoice in agerasia.

You are unlucky if you have experienced anaxiphilia.

You should beware of being aspectabund.

Perhaps you aestivate because you apricate.

Hopefully you are not an agelast.

You are rather odd if you expect apocolocynotosis before tomorrow.

You will need Foyle's Further Philavery if the importance of these conditions escapes you. And these are just the conditions beginning with the letter A.

It was only last year that Christopher Foyle published his `Philavery' (see my review): 233 pages of unusual words; and this has been such a success (and he has worked so hard) that only a year later he has produced a further 209 pages of the same. And when you have worked your way through it, you may celebrate the author of this second delightful and beautifully produced book with something from a zythepsary.

An idiosyncratic collection of (fairly) uncommon and pleasing words, 17 Mar 2008
When I saw this advertised, I felt slightly ashamed that I had no idea what a `philavery' was.... It turns out I needn't have worried: the word was invented specifically to describe this book: "Philavery /fil-a-vuh-ri/ n. an idiosyncratic collection of uncommon and pleasing words."

The book is the result of years of word collecting by the author, Christopher Foyle, chairman of the famous Foyles bookshop in London. The `uncommoness' of the words included in the volume is defined by Foyle; as such many words in the philavery are familiar to me. Indeed, he states in the introduction that the US commander of the first Gulf War described information with little value as "bovine scatology". The author admits he had to refer to a dictionary to discover the meaning of scatology, which surprised me as I would not personally consider it an unusual word. The same goes for fabiform, exsanguinate, factitious, chino and countless more. Some words, such as `halcyon', were included not because they are particularly unfamiliar, but because of their fascinating etymologies.

In all, this would make a great gift with its attractive design and quality of production. And whilst the criteria for inclusion in the philavery seems somewhat spurious, and certainly subjective, this is a 230-page book full of obscure, quirky, fun, poignant words, so even if you know some of them already, there is still plenty to delight and inform word lovers.

A delight, 06 Nov 2007
This is great fun for those who are interested in unusual words, even though there is, I think, a slight padding out. By my reckoning at least, some ten words out of the 105 listed here beginning with the letter A are not really all that unusual. But this must be a somewhat subjective judgment. Some 73 of the words under A I had never come across, and that's a pretty good score for this beautifully produced book. Would make a lovely present for a philaveryphile!

A vade-mecum for logodaedali, 01 Oct 2008
You are lucky if you can rejoice in agerasia.

You are unlucky if you have experienced anaxiphilia.

You should beware of being aspectabund.

Perhaps you aestivate because you apricate.

Hopefully you are not an agelast.

You are rather odd if you expect apocolocynotosis before tomorrow.

You will need Foyle's Further Philavery if the importance of these conditions escapes you. And these are just the conditions beginning with the letter A.

It was only last year that Christopher Foyle published his `Philavery' (see my review): 233 pages of unusual words; and this has been such a success (and he has worked so hard) that only a year later he has produced a further 209 pages of the same. And when you have worked your way through it, you may celebrate the author of this second delightful and beautifully produced book with something from a zythepsary.

Good for Spain - useless for other hispanic countries, 15 Jul 2007
Even though it's conceivable that a book that focused on Spanish slang from all hispanic countries would be enormous, I find this book inadequate. The slang that it contains only makes sense to a spaniard - I have friends from Latin American and I tried using some of this stuff on them and they didn't have the slightest what I was saying.

Even the English translations are obscure if you are not fully versed in the British slang vernacular. My impression is that this book is only for the truly crass British tourists holidaying on the Costa Del Sol. Avoid and find a better source.

An idiosyncratic collection of (fairly) uncommon and pleasing words, 17 Mar 2008
When I saw this advertised, I felt slightly ashamed that I had no idea what a `philavery' was.... It turns out I needn't have worried: the word was invented specifically to describe this book: "Philavery /fil-a-vuh-ri/ n. an idiosyncratic collection of uncommon and pleasing words."

The book is the result of years of word collecting by the author, Christopher Foyle, chairman of the famous Foyles bookshop in London. The `uncommoness' of the words included in the volume is defined by Foyle; as such many words in the philavery are familiar to me. Indeed, he states in the introduction that the US commander of the first Gulf War described information with little value as "bovine scatology". The author admits he had to refer to a dictionary to discover the meaning of scatology, which surprised me as I would not personally consider it an unusual word. The same goes for fabiform, exsanguinate, factitious, chino and countless more. Some words, such as `halcyon', were included not because they are particularly unfamiliar, but because of their fascinating etymologies.

In all, this would make a great gift with its attractive design and quality of production. And whilst the criteria for inclusion in the philavery seems somewhat spurious, and certainly subjective, this is a 230-page book full of obscure, quirky, fun, poignant words, so even if you know some of them already, there is still plenty to delight and inform word lovers.

A delight, 06 Nov 2007
This is great fun for those who are interested in unusual words, even though there is, I think, a slight padding out. By my reckoning at least, some ten words out of the 105 listed here beginning with the letter A are not really all that unusual. But this must be a somewhat subjective judgment. Some 73 of the words under A I had never come across, and that's a pretty good score for this beautifully produced book. Would make a lovely present for a philaveryphile!

A vade-mecum for logodaedali, 01 Oct 2008
You are lucky if you can rejoice in agerasia.

You are unlucky if you have experienced anaxiphilia.

You should beware of being aspectabund.

Perhaps you aestivate because you apricate.

Hopefully you are not an agelast.

You are rather odd if you expect apocolocynotosis before tomorrow.

You will need Foyle's Further Philavery if the importance of these conditions escapes you. And these are just the conditions beginning with the letter A.

It was only last year that Christopher Foyle published his `Philavery' (see my review): 233 pages of unusual words; and this has been such a success (and he has worked so hard) that only a year later he has produced a further 209 pages of the same. And when you have worked your way through it, you may celebrate the author of this second delightful and beautifully produced book with something from a zythepsary.

Good for Spain - useless for other hispanic countries, 15 Jul 2007
Even though it's conceivable that a book that focused on Spanish slang from all hispanic countries would be enormous, I find this book inadequate. The slang that it contains only makes sense to a spaniard - I have friends from Latin American and I tried using some of this stuff on them and they didn't have the slightest what I was saying.

Even the English translations are obscure if you are not fully versed in the British slang vernacular. My impression is that this book is only for the truly crass British tourists holidaying on the Costa Del Sol. Avoid and find a better source.

funny and very distracting, 20 Nov 2008
i don't understand what the other reviewers are trying to say. This book does exactly what it says on the tin. i received March Hares as a gift last year and it has constantly provided intrigue and often laughter during trips to the loo! A great toilet book full of memorable facts about the words and phrases we all use so often.

Don't bother, 13 Mar 2006
If you really are interested in the origin of phrases, you would do better to have a look at one of the many websites on this subject.

If you are unable to work out for yourself that the phrase "Mission Impossible" comes from the TV series of the same name, then this is the book for you.

Other phrases are not particularly well-researched and the author seems to have plumped for the obvious meanings rather than looked at the origins in any depth.

I have given the book one star for it's presentation - nice cover, but don't judge the book by it. (Can anyone tell me the origin of that phrase - it's so obvious I'm suprised it's not in Mr. Oliver's book).

Disappointing, 28 Nov 2005
This book is badly named. Its subtitle is 'Origins of the words and phrases we use every day' - not strictly true. I started reading this last night and most of the time it tells you what the phrases/words mean and not the origin of them. It is quite interesting though but would be very useful if it told you the whole story

An idiosyncratic collection of (fairly) uncommon and pleasing words, 17 Mar 2008
When I saw this advertised, I felt slightly ashamed that I had no idea what a `philavery' was.... It turns out I needn't have worried: the word was invented specifically to describe this book: "Philavery /fil-a-vuh-ri/ n. an idiosyncratic collection of uncommon and pleasing words."

The book is the result of years of word collecting by the author, Christopher Foyle, chairman of the famous Foyles bookshop in London. The `uncommoness' of the words included in the volume is defined by Foyle; as such many words in the philavery are familiar to me. Indeed, he states in the introduction that the US commander of the first Gulf War described information with little value as "bovine scatology". The author admits he had to refer to a dictionary to discover the meaning of scatology, which surprised me as I would not personally consider it an unusual word. The same goes for fabiform, exsanguinate, factitious, chino and countless more. Some words, such as `halcyon', were included not because they are particularly unfamiliar, but because of their fascinating etymologies.

In all, this would make a great gift with its attractive design and quality of production. And whilst the criteria for inclusion in the philavery seems somewhat spurious, and certainly subjective, this is a 230-page book full of obscure, quirky, fun, poignant words, so even if you know some of them already, there is still plenty to delight and inform word lovers.

A delight, 06 Nov 2007
This is great fun for those who are interested in unusual words, even though there is, I think, a slight padding out. By my reckoning at least, some ten words out of the 105 listed here beginning with the letter A are not really all that unusual. But this must be a somewhat subjective judgment. Some 73 of the words under A I had never come across, and that's a pretty good score for this beautifully produced book. Would make a lovely present for a philaveryphile!

A vade-mecum for logodaedali, 01 Oct 2008
You are lucky if you can rejoice in agerasia.

You are unlucky if you have experienced anaxiphilia.

You should beware of being aspectabund.

Perhaps you aestivate because you apricate.

Hopefully you are not an agelast.

You are rather odd if you expect apocolocynotosis before tomorrow.

You will need Foyle's Further Philavery if the importance of these conditions escapes you. And these are just the conditions beginning with the letter A.

It was only last year that Christopher Foyle published his `Philavery' (see my review): 233 pages of unusual words; and this has been such a success (and he has worked so hard) that only a year later he has produced a further 209 pages of the same. And when you have worked your way through it, you may celebrate the author of this second delightful and beautifully produced book with something from a zythepsary.

Good for Spain - useless for other hispanic countries, 15 Jul 2007
Even though it's conceivable that a book that focused on Spanish slang from all hispanic countries would be enormous, I find this book inadequate. The slang that it contains only makes sense to a spaniard - I have friends from Latin American and I tried using some of this stuff on them and they didn't have the slightest what I was saying.

Even the English translations are obscure if you are not fully versed in the British slang vernacular. My impression is that this book is only for the truly crass British tourists holidaying on the Costa Del Sol. Avoid and find a better source.

funny and very distracting, 20 Nov 2008
i don't understand what the other reviewers are trying to say. This book does exactly what it says on the tin. i received March Hares as a gift last year and it has constantly provided intrigue and often laughter during trips to the loo! A great toilet book full of memorable facts about the words and phrases we all use so often.

Don't bother, 13 Mar 2006
If you really are interested in the origin of phrases, you would do better to have a look at one of the many websites on this subject.

If you are unable to work out for yourself that the phrase "Mission Impossible" comes from the TV series of the same name, then this is the book for you.

Other phrases are not particularly well-researched and the author seems to have plumped for the obvious meanings rather than looked at the origins in any depth.

I have given the book one star for it's presentation - nice cover, but don't judge the book by it. (Can anyone tell me the origin of that phrase - it's so obvious I'm suprised it's not in Mr. Oliver's book).

Disappointing, 28 Nov 2005
This book is badly named. Its subtitle is 'Origins of the words and phrases we use every day' - not strictly true. I started reading this last night and most of the time it tells you what the phrases/words mean and not the origin of them. It is quite interesting though but would be very useful if it told you the whole story

Lives on my desk, 07 Apr 2008
This book lives on my desk, not in the bookshelf. If I'm feeling uninspired, or just can't think of the right word to use, this book jump-starts my creative thinking. It's simply brilliant.

Any "twist and twirl" or "heap of coke" who assumes that rhyming slang is an obscure and exclusive Cockney province can think again. You would hardly "Adam and Eve" some of the more recent coinages in The Oxford Dictionary of Rhyming Slang coming as they do from all walks of life and all over the world.

The first reference to rhyming slang was in John Camden Hotten's The Slang Dictionary (1859) and it probably originated as an underworld code before developing into a form of word play that people found fun. They still do. Alongside the old favourites such as "dicky dirt" for shirt and "whistle and flute" for suit are plenty of Tony Blairs (flairs) Claire Rayners (trainers) Britney Spears (beers) and Steffi Graf (laugh). Language is in a continuous state of change and Ayto gives us some delightful obsolete expressions such as "apple pips" for lips or "bowl the hoop" for soup alongside some tasty current ones such as Duchess of York (pork) and Schindler's List (pissed).

Ayto gets really entertaining though when he when he gets into the euphemistic territory of body parts and functions. If you call someone a "berk" or "burk" and think that's quite mild just remember it derives from a rhyme with Berkley or Berkshire hunt. Whores have variously been called "boat and oar", "bolt the door" (graphically reduced to "old bolts"), "Doug McClure", "Roger Moore", "sloop of war" and "two by four". And ask yourself what "raspberry ripple" and "Christmas crackers" might rhyme with.

For word lovers the thematic sections of The Oxford Dictionary of Rhyming Slang is an enlightening browse with lots of historical titbits. --Susan Elkin

An idiosyncratic collection of (fairly) uncommon and pleasing words, 17 Mar 2008
When I saw this advertised, I felt slightly ashamed that I had no idea what a `philavery' was.... It turns out I needn't have worried: the word was invented specifically to describe this book: "Philavery /fil-a-vuh-ri/ n. an idiosyncratic collection of uncommon and pleasing words."

The book is the result of years of word collecting by the author, Christopher Foyle, chairman of the famous Foyles bookshop in London. The `uncommoness' of the words included in the volume is defined by Foyle; as such many words in the philavery are familiar to me. Indeed, he states in the introduction that the US commander of the first Gulf War described information with little value as "bovine scatology". The author admits he had to refer to a dictionary to discover the meaning of scatology, which surprised me as I would not personally consider it an unusual word. The same goes for fabiform, exsanguinate, factitious, chino and countless more. Some words, such as `halcyon', were included not because they are particularly unfamiliar, but because of their fascinating etymologies.

In all, this would make a great gift with its attractive design and quality of production. And whilst the criteria for inclusion in the philavery seems somewhat spurious, and certainly subjective, this is a 230-page book full of obscure, quirky, fun, poignant words, so even if you know some of them already, there is still plenty to delight and inform word lovers.

A delight, 06 Nov 2007
This is great fun for those who are interested in unusual words, even though there is, I think, a slight padding out. By my reckoning at least, some ten words out of the 105 listed here beginning with the letter A are not really all that unusual. But this must be a somewhat subjective judgment. Some 73 of the words under A I had never come across, and that's a pretty good score for this beautifully produced book. Would make a lovely present for a philaveryphile!

A vade-mecum for logodaedali, 01 Oct 2008
You are lucky if you can rejoice in agerasia.

You are unlucky if you have experienced anaxiphilia.

You should beware of being aspectabund.

Perhaps you aestivate because you apricate.

Hopefully you are not an agelast.

You are rather odd if you expect apocolocynotosis before tomorrow.

You will need Foyle's Further Philavery if the importance of these conditions escapes you. And these are just the conditions beginning with the letter A.

It was only last year that Christopher Foyle published his `Philavery' (see my review): 233 pages of unusual words; and this has been such a success (and he has worked so hard) that only a year later he has produced a further 209 pages of the same. And when you have worked your way through it, you may celebrate the author of this second delightful and beautifully produced book with something from a zythepsary.

Good for Spain - useless for other hispanic countries, 15 Jul 2007
Even though it's conceivable that a book that focused on Spanish slang from all hispanic countries would be enormous, I find this book inadequate. The slang that it contains only makes sense to a spaniard - I have friends from Latin American and I tried using some of this stuff on them and they didn't have the slightest what I was saying.

Even the English translations are obscure if you are not fully versed in the British slang vernacular. My impression is that this book is only for the truly crass British tourists holidaying on the Costa Del Sol. Avoid and find a better source.

funny and very distracting, 20 Nov 2008
i don't understand what the other reviewers are trying to say. This book does exactly what it says on the tin. i received March Hares as a gift last year and it has constantly provided intrigue and often laughter during trips to the loo! A great toilet book full of memorable facts about the words and phrases we all use so often.

Don't bother, 13 Mar 2006
If you really are interested in the origin of phrases, you would do better to have a look at one of the many websites on this subject.

If you are unable to work out for yourself that the phrase "Mission Impossible" comes from the TV series of the same name, then this is the book for you.

Other phrases are not particularly well-researched and the author seems to have plumped for the obvious meanings rather than looked at the origins in any depth.

I have given the book one star for it's presentation - nice cover, but don't judge the book by it. (Can anyone tell me the origin of that phrase - it's so obvious I'm suprised it's not in Mr. Oliver's book).

Disappointing, 28 Nov 2005
This book is badly named. Its subtitle is 'Origins of the words and phrases we use every day' - not strictly true. I started reading this last night and most of the time it tells you what the phrases/words mean and not the origin of them. It is quite interesting though but would be very useful if it told you the whole story

Lives on my desk, 07 Apr 2008
This book lives on my desk, not in the bookshelf. If I'm feeling uninspired, or just can't think of the right word to use, this book jump-starts my creative thinking. It's simply brilliant.

You will speak like Del Boy in no time, 01 May 2004
Have you have ever heard Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses saying things like "Currant Bun", and wondered what he means? He is using a language called rhyming slang, where rhyming other words makes the intended word.

Whether you're a complete beginner, or a real life Del Boy that wants to know where the rhymes originated from, this book is for you. The book is split into 27 categories like illness, animals, sport, and then into the appropriate sub-sections to make it even easier to find the rhyme you want. When you find the word you want to say as a rhyme, you can also find out when it was first said, and any other ways of saying it. There is also a handy index of the rhymes, so you can find out what a specific rhyme means, if you have heard it from something like Only Fools and Horses.

The reason I first bought this book was to improve my small knowledge of rhyming slang, but now I have read the book, it has made me think how cleverly made this unique language is. Many of the rhymes are highly amusing, so it's a perfect gift for someone, or get it for yourself and impress your mates by speaking another language in English.

An idiosyncratic collection of (fairly) uncommon and pleasing words, 17 Mar 2008
When I saw this advertised, I felt slightly ashamed that I had no idea what a `philavery' was.... It turns out I needn't have worried: the word was invented specifically to describe this book: "Philavery /fil-a-vuh-ri/ n. an idiosyncratic collection of uncommon and pleasing words."

The book is the result of years of word collecting by the author, Christopher Foyle, chairman of the famous Foyles bookshop in London. The `uncommoness' of the words included in the volume is defined by Foyle; as such many words in the philavery are familiar to me. Indeed, he states in the introduction that the US commander of the first Gulf War described information with little value as "bovine scatology". The author admits he had to refer to a dictionary to discover the meaning of scatology, which surprised me as I would not personally consider it an unusual word. The same goes for fabiform, exsanguinate, factitious, chino and countless more. Some words, such as `halcyon', were included not because they are particularly unfamiliar, but because of their fascinating etymologies.

In all, this would make a great gift with its attractive design and quality of production. And whilst the criteria for inclusion in the philavery seems somewhat spurious, and certainly subjective, this is a 230-page book full of obscure, quirky, fun, poignant words, so even if you know some of them already, there is still plenty to delight and inform word lovers.

A delight, 06 Nov 2007
This is great fun for those who are interested in unusual words, even though there is, I think, a slight padding out. By my reckoning at least, some ten words out of the 105 listed here beginning with the letter A are not really all that unusual. But this must be a somewhat subjective judgment. Some 73 of the words under A I had never come across, and that's a pretty good score for this beautifully produced book. Would make a lovely present for a philaveryphile!

A vade-mecum for logodaedali, 01 Oct 2008
You are lucky if you can rejoice in agerasia.

You are unlucky if you have experienced anaxiphilia.

You should beware of being aspectabund.

Perhaps you aestivate because you apricate.

Hopefully you are not an agelast.

You are rather odd if you expect apocolocynotosis before tomorrow.

You will need Foyle's Further Philavery if the importance of these conditions escapes you. And these are just the conditions beginning with the letter A.

It was only last year that Christopher Foyle published his `Philavery' (see my review): 233 pages of unusual words; and this has been such a success (and he has worked so hard) that only a year later he has produced a further 209 pages of the same. And when you have worked your way through it, you may celebrate the author of this second delightful and beautifully produced book with something from a zythepsary.

Good for Spain - useless for other hispanic countries, 15 Jul 2007
Even though it's conceivable that a book that focused on Spanish slang from all hispanic countries would be enormous, I find this book inadequate. The slang that it contains only makes sense to a spaniard - I have friends from Latin American and I tried using some of this stuff on them and they didn't have the slightest what I was saying.

Even the English translations are obscure if you are not fully versed in the British slang vernacular. My impression is that this book is only for the truly crass British tourists holidaying on the Costa Del Sol. Avoid and find a better source.

funny and very distracting, 20 Nov 2008
i don't understand what the other reviewers are trying to say. This book does exactly what it says on the tin. i received March Hares as a gift last year and it has constantly provided intrigue and often laughter during trips to the loo! A great toilet book full of memorable facts about the words and phrases we all use so often.

Don't bother, 13 Mar 2006
If you really are interested in the origin of phrases, you would do better to have a look at one of the many websites on this subject.

If you are unable to work out for yourself that the phrase "Mission Impossible" comes from the TV series of the same name, then this is the book for you.

Other phrases are not particularly well-researched and the author seems to have plumped for the obvious meanings rather than looked at the origins in any depth.

I have given the book one star for it's presentation - nice cover, but don't judge the book by it. (Can anyone tell me the origin of that phrase - it's so obvious I'm suprised it's not in Mr. Oliver's book).

Disappointing, 28 Nov 2005
This book is badly named. Its subtitle is 'Origins of the words and phrases we use every day' - not strictly true. I started reading this last night and most of the time it tells you what the phrases/words mean and not the origin of them. It is quite interesting though but would be very useful if it told you the whole story

Lives on my desk, 07 Apr 2008
This book lives on my desk, not in the bookshelf. If I'm feeling uninspired, or just can't think of the right word to use, this book jump-starts my creative thinking. It's simply brilliant.

You will speak like Del Boy in no time, 01 May 2004
Have you have ever heard Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses saying things like "Currant Bun", and wondered what he means? He is using a language called rhyming slang, where rhyming other words makes the intended word.

Whether you're a complete beginner, or a real life Del Boy that wants to know where the rhymes originated from, this book is for you. The book is split into 27 categories like illness, animals, sport, and then into the appropriate sub-sections to make it even easier to find the rhyme you want. When you find the word you want to say as a rhyme, you can also find out when it was first said, and any other ways of saying it. There is also a handy index of the rhymes, so you can find out what a specific rhyme means, if you have heard it from something like Only Fools and Horses.

The reason I first bought this book was to improve my small knowledge of rhyming slang, but now I have read the book, it has made me think how cleverly made this unique language is. Many of the rhymes are highly amusing, so it's a perfect gift for someone, or get it for yourself and impress your mates by speaking another language in English.

A book to dip into, 23 Apr 2008
A lot of research must have gone into preparing this book, which really is a hodge-podge of words over which the author has beavered away to find the sources of the original meanings. Some of the entries are fascinating, especially those where the original meaning has been completely lost, but we still use the word in a different context. Many of the words you won't have heard of and are so remote, and out of common use, that knowing their derivation is less entrancing. The book is nicely laid out with the key words in bold type, which makes skimming the text for words that interest you much easier. A book to dip into for a few minutes every now and again, rather than plough through from start to finish.

Quinion's Quirky Quodlibet, 30 Jan 2007
Gallimaufry (noun) - 1. a dish made up of leftovers 2. a miscellaneous jumble or medley

Yup, that pretty much defines the contents of British lexicographer Michael Quinion's fourth book of word stories. His previous book, Port Out, Starboard Home and Other Language Myths (2004) was a surprise big seller. It was no surprise to me because I've been following his work for years. He is the proprietor of a indispensable website, World Wide Words ( www.worldwidewords.org ) that is well-known to word-freaks like me.

'Gallimaufry' focuses on the stories behind words that are disappearing (or have disappeared) from the language. It is divided into sections on food and drink, health and medicine, entertainment and leisure, transport and fashion and concludes with a delightful section on names, employment, and communications. We get the stories behind such words as (to take examples only from the transport section) brougham (named for a former Lord Chancellor), landau, barouche, cab (née cabriolet), hansom, and taxi, among others. (Did you know that the original form of 'taxi' was 'taximeter cabriolet'? The 'taximeter' ('taxi', tariff; 'meter' measure) part of the name indicated that a cab was the first public vehicle to measure the distance a fare was taken and charge accordingly.

Quinion's style is lighthearted while learned. I found myself turning pages just to see what was next. Admittedly I'm fascinated by words, having been a reader for the Oxford English Dictionary for a number of years, but Quinion's way of explaining word histories is unfailingly delightful and I think this book could be as interesting to the non-word-freak as was, say, Bill Bryson's book, 'The Mother Tongue.' And it's a lot more factual.

Typography is attractive -- the subject words are in bold print, making browsing easy -- and there is a full index of the words treated in the text.

This book would make a fine birthday or other gift for the right sort of reader.

Scott Morrison

An idiosyncratic collection of (fairly) uncommon and pleasing words, 17 Mar 2008
When I saw this advertised, I felt slightly ashamed that I had no idea what a `philavery' was.... It turns out I needn't have worried: the word was invented specifically to describe this book: "Philavery /fil-a-vuh-ri/ n. an idiosyncratic collection of uncommon and pleasing words."

The book is the result of years of word collecting by the author, Christopher Foyle, chairman of the famous Foyles bookshop in London. The `uncommoness' of the words included in the volume is defined by Foyle; as such many words in the philavery are familiar to me. Indeed, he states in the introduction that the US commander of the first Gulf War described information with little value as "bovine scatology". The author admits he had to refer to a dictionary to discover the meaning of scatology, which surprised me as I would not personally consider it an unusual word. The same goes for fabiform, exsanguinate, factitious, chino and countless more. Some words, such as `halcyon', were included not because they are particularly unfamiliar, but because of their fascinating etymologies.

In all, this would make a great gift with its attractive design and quality of production. And whilst the criteria for inclusion in the philavery seems somewhat spurious, and certainly subjective, this is a 230-page book full of obscure, quirky, fun, poignant words, so even if you know some of them already, there is still plenty to delight and inform word lovers.

A delight, 06 Nov 2007
This is great fun for those who are interested in unusual words, even though there is, I think, a slight padding out. By my reckoning at least, some ten words out of the 105 listed here beginning with the letter A are not really all that unusual. But this must be a somewhat subjective judgment. Some 73 of the words under A I had never come across, and that's a pretty good score for this beautifully produced book. Would make a lovely present for a philaveryphile!

A vade-mecum for logodaedali, 01 Oct 2008
You are lucky if you can rejoice in agerasia.

You are unlucky if you have experienced anaxiphilia.

You should beware of being aspectabund.

Perhaps you aestivate because you apricate.

Hopefully you are not an agelast.

You are rather odd if you expect apocolocynotosis before tomorrow.

You will need Foyle's Further Philavery if the importance of these conditions escapes you. And these are just the conditions beginning with the letter A.

It was only last year that Christopher Foyle published his `Philavery' (see my review): 233 pages of unusual words; and this has been such a success (and he has worked so hard) that only a year later he has produced a further 209 pages of the same. And when you have worked your way through it, you may celebrate the author of this second delightful and beautifully produced book with something from a zythepsary.

Good for Spain - useless for other hispanic countries, 15 Jul 2007
Even though it's conceivable that a book that focused on Spanish slang from all hispanic countries would be enormous, I find this book inadequate. The slang that it contains only makes sense to a spaniard - I have friends from Latin American and I tried using some of this stuff on them and they didn't have the slightest what I was saying.

Even the English translations are obscure if you are not fully versed in the British slang vernacular. My impression is that this book is only for the truly crass British tourists holidaying on the Costa Del Sol. Avoid and find a better source.

funny and very distracting, 20 Nov 2008
i don't understand what the other reviewers are trying to say. This book does exactly what it says on the tin. i received March Hares as a gift last year and it has constantly provided intrigue and often laughter during trips to the loo! A great toilet book full of memorable facts about the words and phrases we all use so often.

Don't bother, 13 Mar 2006
If you really are interested in the origin of phrases, you would do better to have a look at one of the many websites on this subject.

If you are unable to work out for yourself that the phrase "Mission Impossible" comes from the TV series of the same name, then this is the book for you.

Other phrases are not particularly well-researched and the author seems to have plumped for the obvious meanings rather than looked at the origins in any depth.

I have given the book one star for it's presentation - nice cover, but don't judge the book by it. (Can anyone tell me the origin of that phrase - it's so obvious I'm suprised it's not in Mr. Oliver's book).

Disappointing, 28 Nov 2005
This book is badly named. Its subtitle is 'Origins of the words and phrases we use every day' - not strictly true. I started reading this last night and most of the time it tells you what the phrases/words mean and not the origin of them. It is quite interesting though but would be very useful if it told you the whole story

Lives on my desk, 07 Apr 2008
This book lives on my desk, not in the bookshelf. If I'm feeling uninspired, or just can't think of the right word to use, this book jump-starts my creative thinking. It's simply brilliant.

You will speak like Del Boy in no time, 01 May 2004
Have you have ever heard Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses saying things like "Currant Bun", and wondered what he means? He is using a language called rhyming slang, where rhyming other words makes the intended word.

Whether you're a complete beginner, or a real life Del Boy that wants to know where the rhymes originated from, this book is for you. The book is split into 27 categories like illness, animals, sport, and then into the appropriate sub-sections to make it even easier to find the rhyme you want. When you find the word you want to say as a rhyme, you can also find out when it was first said, and any other ways of saying it. There is also a handy index of the rhymes, so you can find out what a specific rhyme means, if you have heard it from something like Only Fools and Horses.

The reason I first bought this book was to improve my small knowledge of rhyming slang, but now I have read the book, it has made me think how cleverly made this unique language is. Many of the rhymes are highly amusing, so it's a perfect gift for someone, or get it for yourself and impress your mates by speaking another language in English.

A book to dip into, 23 Apr 2008
A lot of research must have gone into preparing this book, which really is a hodge-podge of words over which the author has beavered away to find the sources of the original meanings. Some of the entries are fascinating, especially those where the original meaning has been completely lost, but we still use the word in a different context. Many of the words you won't have heard of and are so remote, and out of common use, that knowing their derivation is less entrancing. The book is nicely laid out with the key words in bold type, which makes skimming the text for words that interest you much easier. A book to dip into for a few minutes every now and again, rather than plough through from start to finish.

Quinion's Quirky Quodlibet, 30 Jan 2007
Gallimaufry (noun) - 1. a dish made up of leftovers 2. a miscellaneous jumble or medley

Yup, that pretty much defines the contents of British lexicographer Michael Quinion's fourth book of word stories. His previous book, Port Out, Starboard Home and Other Language Myths (2004) was a surprise big seller. It was no surprise to me because I've been following his work for years. He is the proprietor of a indispensable website, World Wide Words ( www.worldwidewords.org ) that is well-known to word-freaks like me.

'Gallimaufry' focuses on the stories behind words that are disappearing (or have disappeared) from the language. It is divided into sections on food and drink, health and medicine, entertainment and leisure, transport and fashion and concludes with a delightful section on names, employment, and communications. We get the stories behind such words as (to take examples only from the transport section) brougham (named for a former Lord Chancellor), landau, barouche, cab (née cabriolet), hansom, and taxi, among others. (Did you know that the original form of 'taxi' was 'taximeter cabriolet'? The 'taximeter' ('taxi', tariff; 'meter' measure) part of the name indicated that a cab was the first public vehicle to measure the distance a fare was taken and charge accordingly.

Quinion's style is lighthearted while learned. I found myself turning pages just to see what was next. Admittedly I'm fascinated by words, having been a reader for the Oxford English Dictionary for a number of years, but Quinion's way of explaining word histories is unfailingly delightful and I think this book could be as interesting to the non-word-freak as was, say, Bill Bryson's book, 'The Mother Tongue.' And it's a lot more factual.

Typography is attractive -- the subject words are in bold print, making browsing easy -- and there is a full index of the words treated in the text.

This book would make a fine birthday or other gift for the right sort of reader.

Scott Morrison

A Brilliant Book!, 17 Jul 2008
This book should be on every Irish person's bookshelf. With even the most rudimentary knowledge of the Irish language the enjoyment this book provides is astonishing. Not only does it connect the Irish language with English modern usage, it also provides an insight into the origins of the American accent, particularly the New York accent. I laughed my way through it by saying the Irish words, such as bealach (meaning road, path etc) and realised I was speaking with a New York accent -- try it with an Ulster Irish accent in particular. It's 'block', as in 'walk down the block', or as the New Yorkers say it 'belack'. It's full of little gems like that. Balony=beal onna, jerk=deirceach, dork=dorc. It's sorted out all of this year's Christmas presents.

One for the academics to argue about., 19 Feb 2008
It would be safe to say that most people use slang words to add flavour to their speech and American slang has become widely used in all English speaking countries but where these words came from. Daniel Cassidy provides us with an answer in his book How the Irish Invented Slang. The key to his theory lies in Irish Gaeilge and Scots Gàidhlig, what English speakers usually refer to as Gaelic. According to Mr Cassidy Irish is the hidden influence on American English and this gives the vernacular its distinctive vocabulary.
The Scots (and Scots Irish) had influenced American speech early on particularly in the south, however, the author attributes the origin of most American slang from the period during and after An Gorta Mór the Great Famine and the huge influx of native Irish speakers into American industrial cities. These areas where for many years Breac-Ghaeltachtaí or mixed Irish and English speaking districts.
The reality of the slums that the Irish inhabited at the time was particularly bleak. Even the word "slum" Cassidy derives from the Irish "Is lom é" meaning "It's bare".
It clear that a lot of the derivations are based on the author hunches and he has the advantage of an insider's knowledge of the vernacular. For example the true origin of the Dead Rabbit moniker from the film The Gangs of New York is revealed. He also explains the hidden Irish lament in the chorus of the famous folk song Paddy Works on the Railway.
Many of the words are listed in the traditional sources being of unknown origin or have been given ridiculous etymologies, clearly the academics weren't familiar with the street talk. As a student of Irish language myself, I have learned some of the phrases from the book to add to my Irish vocabulary.
The period of large scale emigration to America of Irish speakers may be long past, but this book proves how they left their mark in speech patterns and in the words that people now take for granted.
For anyone interested in slang or the Irish American experience then this book is a worthy addition to your bookshelf.


A treasure of revelations, 05 Oct 2007
Professor Dan Cassidy has gone to no little effort in this volume to extract the true (Irish) origins of many 'origin unknown', or mis-sourced words of common currency in the English language.

Thus are we treated to the gaelic roots of bees knees, buccaneer, cute, dude, feud, gimmick, gunga din, jackpot, hoax, mayhem, to name but a small few of the surprising number of words with gaelic origins.

What has patently been a labour of love for the author is truly a journey of etymological delight for the rest of us. A gem.

from the IRSIH TIMES - July 28, 2007, 29 Jul 2007

A new book claims the Irish language gave America such slang words as dude, dork and jazz, writes Kate Holmquist, Irish Times, July, 28, 2007

How the Irish language became American slanguage has become a passion for Daniel Cassidy, who grew up in Brooklyn, New York speaking "Irish" without even realising it. The words and phrases he'd learned as a kid in New York in the 1940s and 1950s - such as "snazzy" and "dude" - were lighting up in his mind as he learned Irish words.

OF ALL THE hundreds of American slang words that he has traced back to the Irish language, his favourite is jazz. Ironically, the name is associated with African-American music, though the earliest performers of "jazz" didn't like the word. Jazz comes from "teas", a noun for heat, passion and excitement. He's traced the use of "jazz" as a synonym for sex as far back as 1899. Musician Richard Holbrooke wrote in 1974: "I shall be glad to swear on oath before a notary public that 'jazz' as a sex word was not only used in San Francisco before the earthquake and fire, but that it was of such common use that it was a localism."

ACCORDING TO CASSIDY, "Jazz was so full of jasm and gism ('teas ioma' - an abundance of heat and passion; figuratively semen) that no one could, or would, write it down. In 1913, it was a word you learned by ear - like jazz music."
One hundred years later, there are 80,000 Irish speakers in the US. At the college where he teaches, Cassidy has students from all ethnic groups, all of them claiming enough Irish blood to make them want to know the language.

An idiosyncratic collection of (fairly) uncommon and pleasing words, 17 Mar 2008
When I saw this advertised, I felt slightly ashamed that I had no idea what a `philavery' was.... It turns out I needn't have worried: the word was invented specifically to describe this book: "Philavery /fil-a-vuh-ri/ n. an idiosyncratic collection of uncommon and pleasing words."

The book is the result of years of word collecting by the author, Christopher Foyle, chairman of the famous Foyles bookshop in London. The `uncommoness' of the words included in the volume is defined by Foyle; as such many words in the philavery are familiar to me. Indeed, he states in the introduction that the US commander of the first Gulf War described information with little value as "bovine scatology". The author admits he had to refer to a dictionary to discover the meaning of scatology, which surprised me as I would not personally consider it an unusual word. The same goes for fabiform, exsanguinate, factitious, chino and countless more. Some words, such as `halcyon', were included not because they are particularly unfamiliar, but because of their fascinating etymologies.

In all, this would make a great gift with its attractive design and quality of production. And whilst the criteria for inclusion in the philavery seems somewhat spurious, and certainly subjective, this is a 230-page book full of obscure, quirky, fun, poignant words, so even if you know some of them already, there is still plenty to delight and inform word lovers.

A delight, 06 Nov 2007
This is great fun for those who are interested in unusual words, even though there is, I think, a slight padding out. By my reckoning at least, some ten words out of the 105 listed here beginning with the letter A are not really all that unusual. But this must be a somewhat subjective judgment. Some 73 of the words under A I had never come across, and that's a pretty good score for this beautifully produced book. Would make a lovely present for a philaveryphile!

A vade-mecum for logodaedali, 01 Oct 2008
You are lucky if you can rejoice in agerasia.

You are unlucky if you have experienced anaxiphilia.

You should beware of being aspectabund.

Perhaps you aestivate because you apricate.

Hopefully you are not an agelast.

You are rather odd if you expect apocolocynotosis before tomorrow.

You will need Foyle's Further Philavery if the importance of these conditions escapes you. And these are just the conditions beginning with the letter A.

It was only last year that Christopher Foyle published his `Philavery' (see my review): 233 pages of unusual words; and this has been such a success (and he has worked so hard) that only a year later he has produced a further 209 pages of the same. And when you have worked your way through it, you may celebrate the author of this second delightful and beautifully produced book with something from a zythepsary.

Good for Spain - useless for other hispanic countries, 15 Jul 2007
Even though it's conceivable that a book that focused on Spanish slang from all hispanic countries would be enormous, I find this book inadequate. The slang that it contains only makes sense to a spaniard - I have friends from Latin American and I tried using some of this stuff on them and they didn't have the slightest what I was saying.

Even the English translations are obscure if you are not fully versed in the British slang vernacular. My impression is that this book is only for the truly crass British tourists holidaying on the Costa Del Sol. Avoid and find a better source.

funny and very distracting, 20 Nov 2008
i don't understand what the other reviewers are trying to say. This book does exactly what it says on the tin. i received March Hares as a gift last year and it has constantly provided intrigue and often laughter during trips to the loo! A great toilet book full of memorable facts about the words and phrases we all use so often.

Don't bother, 13 Mar 2006
If you really are interested in the origin of phrases, you would do better to have a look at one of the many websites on this subject.

If you are unable to work out for yourself that the phrase "Mission Impossible" comes from the TV series of the same name, then this is the book for you.

Other phrases are not particularly well-researched and the author seems to have plumped for the obvious meanings rather than looked at the origins in any depth.

I have given the book one star for it's presentation - nice cover, but don't judge the book by it. (Can anyone tell me the origin of that phrase - it's so obvious I'm suprised it's not in Mr. Oliver's book).

Disappointing, 28 Nov 2005
This book is badly named. Its subtitle is 'Origins of the words and phrases we use every day' - not strictly true. I started reading this last night and most of the time it tells you what the phrases/words mean and not the origin of them. It is quite interesting though but would be very useful if it told you the whole story

Lives on my desk, 07 Apr 2008
This book lives on my desk, not in the bookshelf. If I'm feeling uninspired, or just can't think of the right word to use, this book jump-starts my creative thinking. It's simply brilliant.

You will speak like Del Boy in no time, 01 May 2004
Have you have ever heard Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses saying things like "Currant Bun", and wondered what he means? He is using a language called rhyming slang, where rhyming other words makes the intended word.

Whether you're a complete beginner, or a real life Del Boy that wants to know where the rhymes originated from, this book is for you. The book is split into 27 categories like illness, animals, sport, and then into the appropriate sub-sections to make it even easier to find the rhyme you want. When you find the word you want to say as a rhyme, you can also find out when it was first said, and any other ways of saying it. There is also a handy index of the rhymes, so you can find out what a specific rhyme means, if you have heard it from something like Only Fools and Horses.

The reason I first bought this book was to improve my small knowledge of rhyming slang, but now I have read the book, it has made me think how cleverly made this unique language is. Many of the rhymes are highly amusing, so it's a perfect gift for someone, or get it for yourself and impress your mates by speaking another language in English.

A book to dip into, 23 Apr 2008
A lot of research must have gone into preparing this book, which really is a hodge-podge of words over which the author has beavered away to find the sources of the original meanings. Some of the entries are fascinating, especially those where the original meaning has been completely lost, but we still use the word in a different context. Many of the words you won't have heard of and are so remote, and out of common use, that knowing their derivation is less entrancing. The book is nicely laid out with the key words in bold type, which makes skimming the text for words that interest you much easier. A book to dip into for a few minutes every now and again, rather than plough through from start to finish.

Quinion's Quirky Quodlibet, 30 Jan 2007
Gallimaufry (noun) - 1. a dish made up of leftovers 2. a miscellaneous jumble or medley

Yup, that pretty much defines the contents of British lexicographer Michael Quinion's fourth book of word stories. His previous book, Port Out, Starboard Home and Other Language Myths (2004) was a surprise big seller. It was no surprise to me because I've been following his work for years. He is the proprietor of a indispensable website, World Wide Words ( www.worldwidewords.org ) that is well-known to word-freaks like me.

'Gallimaufry' focuses on the stories behind words that are disappearing (or have disappeared) from the language. It is divided into sections on food and drink, health and medicine, entertainment and leisure, transport and fashion and concludes with a delightful section on names, employment, and communications. We get the stories behind such words as (to take examples only from the transport section) brougham (named for a former Lord Chancellor), landau, barouche, cab (née cabriolet), hansom, and taxi, among others. (Did you know that the original form of 'taxi' was 'taximeter cabriolet'? The 'taximeter' ('taxi', tariff; 'meter' measure) part of the name indicated that a cab was the first public vehicle to measure the distance a fare was taken and charge accordingly.

Quinion's style is lighthearted while learned. I found myself turning pages just to see what was next. Admittedly I'm fascinated by words, having been a reader for the Oxford English Dictionary for a number of years, but Quinion's way of explaining word histories is unfailingly delightful and I think this book could be as interesting to the non-word-freak as was, say, Bill Bryson's book, 'The Mother Tongue.' And it's a lot more factual.

Typography is attractive -- the subject words are in bold print, making browsing easy -- and there is a full index of the words treated in the text.

This book would make a fine birthday or other gift for the right sort of reader.

Scott Morrison

A Brilliant Book!, 17 Jul 2008
This book should be on every Irish person's bookshelf. With even the most rudimentary knowledge of the Irish language the enjoyment this book provides is astonishing. Not only does it connect the Irish language with English modern usage, it also provides an insight into the origins of the American accent, particularly the New York accent. I laughed my way through it by saying the Irish words, such as bealach (meaning road, path etc) and realised I was speaking with a New York accent -- try it with an Ulster Irish accent in particular. It's 'block', as in 'walk down the block', or as the New Yorkers say it 'belack'. It's full of little gems like that. Balony=beal onna, jerk=deirceach, dork=dorc. It's sorted out all of this year's Christmas presents.

One for the academics to argue about., 19 Feb 2008
It would be safe to say that most people use slang words to add flavour to their speech and American slang has become widely used in all English speaking countries but where these words came from. Daniel Cassidy provides us with an answer in his book How the Irish Invented Slang. The key to his theory lies in Irish Gaeilge and Scots Gàidhlig, what English speakers usually refer to as Gaelic. According to Mr Cassidy Irish is the hidden influence on American English and this gives the vernacular its distinctive vocabulary.
The Scots (and Scots Irish) had influenced American speech early on particularly in the south, however, the author attributes the origin of most American slang from the period during and after An Gorta Mór the Great Famine and the huge influx of native Irish speakers into American industrial cities. These areas where for many years Breac-Ghaeltachtaí or mixed Irish and English speaking districts.
The reality of the slums that the Irish inhabited at the time was particularly bleak. Even the word "slum" Cassidy derives from the Irish "Is lom é" meaning "It's bare".
It clear that a lot of the derivations are based on the author hunches and he has the advantage of an insider's knowledge of the vernacular. For example the true origin of the Dead Rabbit moniker from the film The Gangs of New York is revealed. He also explains the hidden Irish lament in the chorus of the famous folk song Paddy Works on the Railway.
Many of the words are listed in the traditional sources being of unknown origin or have been given ridiculous etymologies, clearly the academics weren't familiar with the street talk. As a student of Irish language myself, I have learned some of the phrases from the book to add to my Irish vocabulary.
The period of large scale emigration to America of Irish speakers may be long past, but this book proves how they left their mark in speech patterns and in the words that people now take for granted.
For anyone interested in slang or the Irish American experience then this book is a worthy addition to your bookshelf.


A treasure of revelations, 05 Oct 2007
Professor Dan Cassidy has gone to no little effort in this volume to extract the true (Irish) origins of many 'origin unknown', or mis-sourced words of common currency in the English language.

Thus are we treated to the gaelic roots of bees knees, buccaneer, cute, dude, feud, gimmick, gunga din, jackpot, hoax, mayhem, to name but a small few of the surprising number of words with gaelic origins.

What has patently been a labour of love for the author is truly a journey of etymological delight for the rest of us. A gem.

from the IRSIH TIMES - July 28, 2007, 29 Jul 2007

A new book claims the Irish language gave America such slang words as dude, dork and jazz, writes Kate Holmquist, Irish Times, July, 28, 2007

How the Irish language became American slanguage has become a passion for Daniel Cassidy, who grew up in Brooklyn, New York speaking "Irish" without even realising it. The words and phrases he'd learned as a kid in New York in the 1940s and 1950s - such as "snazzy" and "dude" - were lighting up in his mind as he learned Irish words.

OF ALL THE hundreds of American slang words that he has traced back to the Irish language, his favourite is jazz. Ironically, the name is associated with African-American music, though the earliest performers of "jazz" didn't like the word. Jazz comes from "teas", a noun for heat, passion and excitement. He's traced the use of "jazz" as a synonym for sex as far back as 1899. Musician Richard Holbrooke wrote in 1974: "I shall be glad to swear on oath before a notary public that 'jazz' as a sex word was not only used in San Francisco before the earthquake and fire, but that it was of such common use that it was a localism."

ACCORDING TO CASSIDY, "Jazz was so full of jasm and gism ('teas ioma' - an abundance of heat and passion; figuratively semen) that no one could, or would, write it down. In 1913, it was a word you learned by ear - like jazz music."
One hundred years later, there are 80,000 Irish speakers in the US. At the college where he teaches, Cassidy has students from all ethnic groups, all of them claiming enough Irish blood to make them want to know the language.


Worth a look.., 12 Mar 2006
"Rude Spanish" is a highly entertaining book covering European Spanish only (that is to say, it does not cover Latin American varieties of slang). Although it is very amusing and contains some great information and words, it's usefulness is somewhat limited as you are unlikely to ever find yourself in the scenarios featured in the book. A good little novelty book to purchase if you're heading to Spain and you'd like to have a brief idea what people are on about, but there are better alternatives with a much broader scope available.

If your other reference books aren't funky enough for you, get a smattering of unorthodoxy with the Oxford Dictionary of Slang. This comprehensive look at informal English from around the world and across the centuries is organised thesaurus-style into sections for easy browsing by category. Look up underground terminology for drugs and sex and you'll be browsing for a month of Sundays. Of course, if you need to get the skinny on a particular term but have no idea what it could mean, there's an alphabetical index that'll take you right where you need to go. Each word or phrase is thoroughly documented, as you'd expect from an Oxford dictionary; its first print sighting, place of use, meanings and cross-contextual references are included, as well as illuminating usage quotes. The Dictionary is easy to use and the definitions are concise--you can get the information y