The Horologicon: A Day's Jaunt Through the Lost Words of the English Language [Hardcover]

First of all, I have to admit that I went against the author's recommendation and read this book from cover to cover; alas, at least so far, I have not suffered from any ill-effects. A warning to any prospective readers though: while reading this, what Mark Forsyth calls a serious "reference work", I was rather prone to reading out random passages to my unsuspecting husband who had no choice but to listen. Please bear that in mind before you decide to buy the book.

As the front cover tells us, this is "A Day's Jaunt Through the Lost Words of the English Language", starting at 6 a.m. and ending at midnight. Each chapter, comprising of one hour, deals with one major activity particular to that time of day, such as Waking and Washing, Dressing and Breakfast, and Commute. In his preambulation, the author hopes that this book will be used as a reverse dictionary: rather than asking "What does xyz mean?", he encourages the reader to ask "What's the word?" for a particular activity, then check the time and find the answer in this handy reference book, such as: "I really don't feel like going in to work today, I have to call up my boss to feign sickness", for which the word is egrote. The fact that my laptop's inbuilt spellchecker has just flagged it up just shows you how forgotten and obscure these words have (unfortunately) become. So your boss will not have the faintest idea that what you're really doing is whindling because you're suffering from a hum durgeon. The author's whimsical and easy-going conversational style of writing rather masks his eloquence and hard work that has obviously gone into this book, and it is easy to tell that it is a true labour of love, peppered as it is with such lovely alliterations such as herbaceous hedonism and linguistic lowlands. It made me chuckle and even laugh out loud on numerous occasions because I could transfer what I read so easily to myself or recognise it in my husband. It is obvious that Mark Forsyth possesses a rather impish sense of mischief which is most easily recognisable when he talks about the cleverly disguised insults that could be hurled at any person of disfavour and without them being any the wiser; these, along with some fascinating etymological snippets, are some of the best bits in my opinion. This is an absolute treasure trove of obscure and forgotten words that deserve to be brought back to light and into the current dictionaries. I say we start a campaign to resurrect a word from each chapter; wouldn't that be a linguistic achievement to find that bellibone has now had its first documented use since 1586? Who's with me?

After really enjoying 'The Etymologicon' last year, I had great expectations of Mark Forsyth's new book and thankfully it didn't disappoint. 'The Horologicon' is the same but different: crucially, the dry, clever wit present in the previous book is still there and, perhaps unsurprisingly, the new one is also about words. However, it's the nature of these words that marks the book out as being different, and even more worthwhile, than the first. Whereas The Etymologicon dealt with everyday words and phrases - a much travelled path in the world of books although never previously with such an entertaining guide - 'The Horologicon' is all about forgotten words, ones with their own peculiar and distinct meaning and flavour. To make the trip through this language that time forgot as enjoyable as possible, the author sets up his tour brilliantly by following day in the life of you, me and he himself. What felt like everyday commonplace is made all the richer for it. I only hope I'm not guilty of 'ultracrepidarianism'! But you can be the judge of that.

Having had hours of witty and informative entertainment from his previous tome, the superb `Etymologicon', I have been eagerly anticipating a follow up from Mark Forsyth, AKA the Inky Fool. It has finally arrived, and I have to say has been well worth the wait.

For lovers of his previous work you will be glad to hear that the trademark dry wit and love of obscure words are still present and correct. Rather than discussing the roots of words this tome sets out to explore words from the English Language that are no longer in common usage but really should be. The framing device is a book of hours - Forsyth details rare and forgotten words appropriate to each hour of the day. Much better than any mere dictionary! It also makes it easier for me to find the appropriate moment to use each word.

Forsyth has a great sense of humour and writing style. I have to say I am often struck by a similarity to Douglas Adams' style. This makes sure that the book is always entertaining, as well as fascinatingly educational. I found that it is a book to dip into rather than read all in one go (as the author makes abundantly clear was his intention in the foreword), but is delightfully rewarding.

In all another 5 star book from Forsythe. An excellent Christmas present for anyone with a sense of humour and a love of language or trivia. It is so much better than the usual trivia books due to its coherent theme, truly obscure words and really well written and witty chapters.