The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities

This book is so fun! I ended up devouring it and can't wait to use some of these words in my daily life. The stories behind some of the words is so entertaining and I found myself laughing sometimes. I learned so much. What a great resource, and so fun too. I would recommend this to anyone. 5 out of 5 stars.

I love words. Especially old, odd, seldom used ones. I've even manage to help revive a few from obscurity among family and friends. I even have a journal I've been collecting them in for years! This book is an absolute delight for us philologoes! It's a wonderful browsing sort of book, though many of us will sit and read it cover to cover in no time at all and then return again and again to linger over new found favorites. Nutty, isn't it? I'll be trying some of these ones in the future. They are never too archaic to try and revive.

This is absolutely one of my favorite kind of nonfiction reads. The format and subject matter allows its readers a variety of preferences in where they could actually read one entry a day, go through the whole thing like an ordinary book, or even just pick it up and open it at random. No matter which way they decide to tackle this book and whether they decide to read about the etymology about one obscure word or several dozen pages in one go, they're guaranteed to an enjoyable and educational experience every single time without fail.

Word nerds rejoice - this one is for us! The author promises a long-forgotten word, unearthed from the past as well as the story behind it, and a related historical event for every day of the year. He delivers past all expectations. Never overly pedantic, this is a very readable book for lovers of words (and I'm certainly one of those!). Just don't be surprised if you start looking for ways to bring up words like "fedifragous" in daily conversation!

What an absolutely charming book!

In this book Paul Anthony Jones brings to light some of the most amusing stories about words and how they got that way, with one for every day of the year. Each entry is short, sweet, and to-the-point and can be read through in a single sitting or picked up and perused occasionally.

I'm particularly fond of my birthday word—August 16, "Pennif" is slang for a bank note which comes from, of all things, German-derived slang written backwards. Huh. Other favorites included October 11 and November 23, but no spoilers.

Definitely a fun gift for a linguist or other word-nerd in your life!

I loved this Yearbook of forgotten words! I love new words and have a thirst for knowledge. I really liked how the author included the definition of the word, the roots and a little history and made into something that was not boring. There were a lot of neat words in this book. Definitely recommend.

Paul Anthony Jones has assembled a considerable collection of lovely words in this book. This text could be a novel addition to a linguistics of writing course — but it’s enjoyable as a reading experience on its own. What I enjoyed most about the book was the level that f etymological detail Jones included in each entry. A fascinating read.

Though new words get added to dictionaries frequently, there are words that have slipped out of common usage. These words are still quite applicable, and you can find times to use them. In The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities, Paul Anthony Jones brings some of these words back into the public eye.

I like learning new words, and there are 366 words in this book to learn about. However, each entry holds more than just the definition of the word. Where possible, the known history is given. I find this helpful, especially if the words comes from another language.

An event in history that matches with the word closes out the entry. These bits of trivia make the book even better to me, as they cover a wide variety of subjects. Plus, if you’re looking to slip the word into a conversation, these events can be a good way to explain the word, or just act as a jumping off point.

One thing that I would have liked to have seen is a pronunciation guide, especially on the odder words. If I’m going to learn new words, I would really like to pronounce them as accurately as possible. The book is still fun without the pronunciations, I just think that would make it better.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I am a big fan of books about language, grammar, and word origins. This one is fantastic! The stories are so entertaining and informative! I love learning new words while also learning a lot of forgotten historical facts and origins. I can't wait to recommend this book to all the word nerds!

A unique & useful must read for fellow word nerds and lovers of linguistics and etymology. The book provides forgotten/underused words for each day of the year. I enjoyed flipping to significant dates to see which words were listed for each date. Had a few chuckles & learned quite a few new words.

This was a fun and educational read, I loved the word-a-day. I collect dictionaries and books like this but I think it would make an excellent gift for someone just starting to enjoy linguistics & word origins.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

An absolutely intriguing book! Though I have not finished it yet, I'm trying to actually do a word a day, I am already excited for each new thing I'll learn and how ridiculous I'll sound trying to pronounce these new words.

Well this is going to be a pretty quick review since the premise of this book is pretty straightforward! That’s definitely not a negative thing though, because I really really enjoyed reading it.

The entire premise of the book is that you get a definition, and the history of, a weird and uncommon word for every day of the year. They also all somehow relate to the day that they’ve been chosen for which was a really fun touch.

I’d definitely recommend reading this one how it was meant to be read, a word a day. Or at least a few words a day, because even though I still enjoyed reading it and learning a bunch it was a bit much to just try and read in a few days. Still totally doable, and still a great addition but maybe drag it out a bit.

This was so much fun and there’s a few that I’ve already started using because I just love them so much. (Most notably telepheme and smoot) I think that this one would be a really fun present, especially for Christmas to just start off the next year where the book begins.

So there we go, a super fun book that will also help you learn some fun new words and some obscure history. Definitely recommend this one.

The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities is a collection of obsolete etymological weirdness, linguistic dead ends, and other fascinating features of the English language. Due out 14th Oct 2019 from the University of Chicago press, it's 384 pages and will be available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats.

I'm a self avowed word nerd. I love language and the way it has shaped (and been shaped by) human culture and interaction. This book was a gold mine of interesting tidbits of which I was previously unaware. The format of the book is simple. It's set up in a 'word a day' calendar format with a word and some of its etymology related in a conversational and informal short essay of roughly 1-2 pages. I was truly impressed with how few of these words were previously known to me. There are worthy words here and a fair bit of related linguistic history.

The book also includes an alphabetical word list of the included words and a short bibliography (several of which are now on my to-be-read pile).

I enjoyed the book, loved the format, and think this would make a really superlative holiday gift for anyone with an appreciation for linguistics as well as a cracking addition to the home (or public) library.

Five stars, a truly fun book.

The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities - A year of fun that you can go back to time and time again.

This is the perfect gift for any curious lover of words! Paul Anthony Jones defines one unusual word for each day of the year. Plus historical background of the words makes The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities even more fun to read.

This book is sure to be a topic of conversation and a source of entertainment for the whole year. Buy two, one for yourself and one to gift!

This book is fantastic...and not just because it's alamodic. I assure you I'm no bottle-conjuerer!
If you love learning about where words originate from, what they mean and what they have meant in history...than this book is for you!
Loved it!

The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities was such a fun and interesting read. This book blends language, culture, and history to explain the origins behind quirky, obscure words that correspond to a day (think "word of the day" calendars). Some of my new favorite words to add to my vernacular:

- mrkgnao (n.) the meow of a cat
So now when I sing "Old MacDonald Had A Farm", the cows go "moo", the pigs go "oink", and the cats go "mrkgnao" but I wonder... what does the fox say?

- theic (n.) an excessive tea drinker
A British slang term that describes my lifestyle.

- smoot (n.) a unit of length equal to five feet, seven inches
Alas, I am 5 inches too short to be a full smoot tall but..
The Great Wall of China is approximately 3,678 smoots long
The Eiffel Tower is about 190 smoots tall
The Empire State Building is roughly 223.9 smoots tall

- arsefoot (n.) a penguin; any squat, short-statured waterbird
I found this hilarious one and imagined a scenario in which a scientist is studying penguins when all of a sudden, a penguin bites the scientist and leads to the scientist scientifically classifying it as an "arsefoot" as revenge

What a fun way to learn new words and spice up your everyday conversations.

*Thank you to NetGalley and University of Chicago Press publishers for providing a free ARC

This book is great fun! Who doesn't love being able to pull out an unusual antiquated word now and then? Plus unusual events and occurrences for every day of the year to go with the words! You'll learn new things and have fun doing it. A perfect gift for anyone!

#CabinetOfLinguisticCuriosities #NetGalley

Linguistics is fascinating, even if it's not my area of expertise in anthropology. As a writer and poet, I love language and playing with words! Learning words lost to time is fun, and Jones' A Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities didn't disappoint. There's a word for each day of the year, with a bit about how it entered the language, and a little trivia story that applies to said word. I learned so many new words, now squirreled away for later use in my own writing. I loved learning the bits of history too. So many things I didn't know. Sometimes it can be quite humbling to think about the weight of time and history, of all that's come before, and faded into obscurity. To think, some day linguists, and other curious folk will be looking back on our time, pondering words lost, or mutated, conjuring images of an era long lost with snapshots of history.

Among the words I learned were esculate, esculation, and luscition, all of which refer to closing or blinding an eye, or being purblind. I'm missing an eye, so these were all very relevant. The story accompanying esculate is an apocryphal legend about the famous Admiral Nelson putting a telescope to his blind eye and saying he didn't see the signal to retreat.

Then there was arsefeet, a colloquial term used to describe a penguin. Agerasia refers to looking younger than actual age. That trivia bite discussed the first use of the abbreviation OMG. It was 1917. Wow!This book is perfect for word lovers, and those who enjoy trivia! Well worth the read.

***Many thanks to the Netgalley & University of Chicago Press for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A great book for those who love words. Would be a perfect gift for any wordsmith or to keep as a coffee table book. A charming title to add to any collection.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.


this book was interesting and fun. It's ultimately a great choice for fellow word nerds.

buy it, keep it, love it!

This is the perfect book for any word nerd. I breezed through it rather quickly and it was a total delight. Definitely one I would recommend as a gift.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

I LOVE books like this. I like having something to start the day with and I love that it was words! Great choices and so much fun!

This book is like a better version of a word-a-day calendar with an almost Seussian spin. The words are so crazy that you'd never use them in your day-to-day life, but they're amusing to discover. The book is best enjoyed daily rather than reading it straight through, though you certainly could do so if you wanted. What makes this even more fun than the usual "here's an interesting word, this is what it means" tear-off calendars is that it gives you so much more information. A few paragraphs accompanies each word to tell you some background or history related to the word, which gives the book much more substance as well as makes the option of reading it straight through much more enjoyable. The background information also makes each word more memorable.

If you love language and learning than this is a book for you. There are so many seldom used and "forgotten" words in English that we all need to learn and perhaps remember. This small collection of these words is a great way to start an exploration into the countless "lost" words that are treasures that need to be uncovered and restored to common usage.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.