Horologicon: A Day's Jaunt Through the Lost Words of the English Language

I don't expect to find myself laughing out loud over a book about obsolete words. I can't think of another book that has proven to be this entertaining. Those obsolete words often define very particular life experiences -- some of them a bit embarrassing. This has been a jolly experience for me learning that our ancestors were every bit as human as we are. The only one I've put to use in my own life is not funny, but is apt and cheers me up when I look in the mirror in the morning. Once upon a time that messed up morning hair was called "elf locks." It makes me feel brighter than "bed head"! Mark Forsyth must be a bit of an elf himself -- and he's been very busy with lots of dictionaries in the British museum concocting all sorts of word cocktails for the rest of us.

This is about the funniest book I have read (and keep reading) in some time. It's actually difficult to read in public places, because I (a 69-year old economist) cannot suppress a constant stream of giggles. The author manages to take you on a journey journey into the world of English words that have all but disappeared, and you often wonder why. The style is the kind of biting humor that only Brits seem to command (although David Sedaris comes close). I certainly would recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaining read that can add to your erudite vocabulary. I'll definitely get Mark Forsyth's other books …

This is not the sort of book you read all the way through in one or two sittings as I usually do. However, it's full of amusing, interesting, and relatively unknown information. If you love words, as I do, you'll adore this book!

This is a real fun book. I would have laid it out a little different. You kind of have to read through lots of text to find the good bits. But, it ishumorous, interesting, and a lot of fun. I would love to see lots of people read this book, and bring some of these crazy words back into common use

I LOVE Horologicon! A friend, who knows I love all things etymological, sent me the book. It so intrigued me and was such fun to read that I instigated two more books as gifts for other "wordy" friends. Mark Forsyth describes himself as a pedant. My dictionary uses "unimaginative" in the definition of "pedant" but that, in no way, is fitting for any part of this book. It is cleverly written adapting wonderful old words to narrate a day in the life of......................hour by hour. A fun read while cloistered by this winter's snow!

A really pleasant read!This book is not intended as a work of reference. It's a humorous distraction, and you might learn something along the way! Probably not something that's going to be of much use to you in your everyday life, but that's not really the point.If you love words, and you don't mind the occasional smile or even a gentle chuckle, then I don't think you'll be disappointed!It's definitely entertaining enough that I'll be buying Forsyth's other books.

We've had more fun using obscure phrases we've learned from this book! Truly a delight to English language nerds 🤓.

The author seems desperate to tickle our risibilities and ends up bruising them with ceaseless attempts at being glib. He should have settled for the role of MC and let the words themselves be the entertainment.

The content of the book is great, as expected. The usual fine fare from Mark Forsyth.The physical presentation of the book, however, is a little less than perfect after the storage and shipping provided by Amazon.As a reading copy it is fine. It arrived with only a somewhat bent front cover and some minor gouging tothe spine - otherwise fine. Not the first book I have received damaged from Amazon but, for the convenience of shopping at home,that is a chance we take.

Great book! Witty and clever.