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The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
 
 

The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language [Kindle Edition]

Mark Forsyth
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (351 customer reviews)

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Review

'I'm hooked on Forsyth's book ... Crikey, but this is addictive' - Mathew Parris, The Times, October 13

'One of the books of the year. It is too enjoyable for words.' - Henry Coningsby, Bookseller

'The Etymologicon, contains fascinating facts' - Daily Mail, October 24

'Kudos should go to Mark Forsyth, author of The Etymologicon ... Clearly a man who knows his onions, Mr Forsyth must have worked 19 to the dozen, spotting red herrings and unravelling inkhorn terms, to bestow this boon - a work of the first water, to coin a phrase.' - Daily Telegraph

'The stocking filler of the season... How else to describe a book that explains the connection between Dom Pérignon and Mein Kampf, ' - Robert McCrum, The Observer

'A perfect bit of stocking filler for the bookish member of the family, or just a cracking all-year-round-read. Highly recommended.'
- Matthew Richardson, The Spectator, 15 Nov

Product Description

'I'm hooked on Forsyth's book ... Crikey, but this is addictive' - Mathew Parris, The Times. Sunday Times Bestseller and Book of the Week on Radio Four. The Etymologicon springs from Mark Forsyth's Inky Fool blog on the strange connections between words. It's an occasionally ribald, frequently witty and unerringly erudite guided tour of the secret labyrinth that lurks beneath the English language, taking in monks and monkeys, film buffs and buffaloes, and explaining precisely what the Rolling Stones have to do with gardening.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
173 of 175 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful 3 Nov 2011
Format:Hardcover
Mark Forsyth's meanderings through the English language are carried off with a panache that frankly leaves other etymological 'dictionaries' looking dry, dusty and rightly shelf-bound. Indeed, the fact that the book starts with the phrase "a turn up for the books" indicates exactly that; this is not a reference book, but a new, unique and often hilarious way of drawing out the richness of English in the form of a comic journey through the verbal linkages, rhyming paths and allegorical alleyways which crowd the author's inventive mind. Equally, though you can dip in and out so it's ideal commuting reading. I was most amused to learn about the link between underwear and Christianity on my way home today. I shall be on Amazon stocking up on more copies to stock stockings before Christmas... Any link there?
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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars have a serendipitous dip inside 8 Nov 2011
Format:Hardcover
what a wonderful compendium of interesting links between the words in our language. this is the perfect companion to an armchair and a log fire; and, after reading this book, you won't see English in the same way as you did before - you'll see English as a far friendlier entity, full of interconnections and pleasing self-references. buy 'the etymologicon' today, i urge you: if you want to enjoy all the more every single conversation you'll ever have in the future, that is.
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137 of 140 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A witty and erudite delight 3 Nov 2011
Format:Hardcover
This witty and erudite book was filed in the reference section of my local bookshop. But despite the slightly forbidding title, and the fact that it is full of enlightening facts and connections, it shouldn't be be bought for reference so much as enjoyment("edutainment", perhaps, although the eloquent Mr Forsyth would probably disapprove of such a clumsy coinage). Perhaps the best way to describe it is to say that it wears its learning very lightly.

The writer takes you on a whirlwind journey through a series of words and historical facts, ingeniously linking each one to the next. There's a fair amount of schoolboy humour, so perhaps not one to buy for someone who doesn't appreciate references to codpieces, but this all adds to the fun (who would have guessed that feisty came from a word meaning "fart"?)

It was very difficult to read this without smiling, both at the jokes and with the joy of discovering new and useless scraps of information.
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43 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
This is a great little book. I was reading it on the tube to work and the Dutch word for butterfly (I don't want to give it away but it involves a very literal translation of buterschijte) genuinely made me laugh out loud, in a very quiet carriage. Erudite, witty, lots of fun and great to dip in and out of.
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By A Common Reader TOP 50 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
Like many people I am mildly interested in where words come from and I've occasionally read books like David Crystal's By Hook Or By Crook: A Journey in Search of English which looks at where English place-names come from. Unless books like these are skilfully written they can quickly become tedious and its usually best to get this sort of information in smallers chunk from newspapers or magazines.

Mark Forsyth publishes the Inky Fool blog in which he looks at the derivation of words, but links one to another in a humorous ramble through the English language. Mark is one of those lucky bloggers who's blog has now become a book, The Etymologicon, and I have to say, it makes for a very good read which I've been dipping into over the last week.

Its probably better to illustrate Mark's methods with an example than to describe them. For example, in a chapter headed A Game of Chicken Mark describes how in medieval France people used to gamble by putting money in a pot then throwing stones at a chicken until someone hit it. This was the game of poule, which is French for chicken. Later on, the pot of money in the middle of a card table came to be known as the poule and this term was picked up by English gamblers who changed the spelling to pool.

We read on to learn the forward connections to the game of pool and then to pooling money, and resources and then onto typing pools and car pools and ends with pointing gout that we have all become part of the gene pool "which, etymologically, means that we are all little bits of chicken".

I was surprised how in order to get his connections Mark has to link words from all the European languages.
... Read more ›
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars You'll love this too 3 Nov 2011
Format:Hardcover
Crikey, where to start? Well, The Etymologicon begins with... book... and ends with... book. And in-between it's crammed full of words of wit and wisdom. I now have a damn good reason for not liking avocados - their name comes from the Aztec word for a part (or two) of men's soft bits. And I was delighted to discover Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do has nothing to do with female deers and drops of golden sun (the truth isn't that much better though - it's a shortening of a hymn to John the Baptist). Finally, if you ever want to speak Latin with the apparent imagination of a football fan then there's the wonderful sentence 'Malo, malo, malo, malo', which doesn't mean your team is playing badly, but does mean 'I would rather be in an apple tree than be a bad boy in trouble'. Perhaps best to keep that one to yourself when on the terraces.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating, interesting, funny and fun
This book should be given to youngsters to show them just how rich and diverse the language they use every day actually is. Read more
Published 3 days ago by Mr. Michael Doherty
5.0 out of 5 stars Very engaging
I wasn't able to put this down the first time I read it - I virtually passed out before putting it down. It's funny, it's witty, and it's informative. Read more
Published 5 days ago by Peter Curd
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful
I don't think I have ever read such a fascinating and genuinely insightful book. Not only is it gorgeous to look at and looks wonderful on my bookshelf, but it is funny and... Read more
Published 11 days ago by Jen B.
5.0 out of 5 stars Facinating read
Ideal dip into & smile book
A must for anyone who loves words, so entertaining
Amusing to see people pick it up, look at the title, raise an eyebrow, open it on any page... Read more
Published 15 days ago by wendi wigham
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun
I really enjoyed reading this book, Mark has a way of making words seem funny. If you are an individual who is interested in the English Language, this book is a must buy!
Published 15 days ago by Irfan Malick
4.0 out of 5 stars hilarious conga dance
A tour de force, linking together in one long conga dance a host of curious words and phrases of the English language. Read more
Published 15 days ago by willow
5.0 out of 5 stars A pleasure to read
Anyone liking words and reading will find this book witty, informative, and well written. At times I laughed out loud. Read more
Published 17 days ago by Ian Howarth
5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating
Developing language always a fascination.This book provided fun discussions with grandchildren and made them think about more than the visual
Published 18 days ago by nostellgreenlady
5.0 out of 5 stars Sensational.
I've read and re-read this book over and over. Well and interestingly written, full of facts to bore the pants off of all and sundry. Arrived spot on time.
Published 27 days ago by sadoldie
5.0 out of 5 stars word smith
very entertaining , love it , the derivation of english words and phrase's , very good if as i am facinated by language
Published 27 days ago by G. A. Matthews
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