Description
Does the sensation of Tingrith(1) make you yelp? Do you bend sympathetically when you see someone Ahenny(2)? Can you deal with a Naugatuck(3) without causing a Toronto(4)? Will you suffer from Kettering(5) this summer?Probably. You are almost certainly familiar with all these experiences but just didnโt know that there are words for them. Well, in fact, there arenโtโor rather there werenโt, until Douglas Adams and John Lloyd decided to plug these egregious linguistic lacunae(6). They quickly realized that just as there are an awful lot of experiences that no one has a name for, so there are an awful lot of names for places you will never need to go to. What a waste. As responsible citizens of a small and crowded world, we must all learn the virtues of recycling(7) and put old, worn-out but still serviceable names to exciting, vibrant, new uses. This is the book that does that for you: The Deeper Meaning of Liffโa whole new solution to the problem of Great Wakering(8)
1โThe feeling of aluminum foil against your fillings.
2โThe way people stand when examining other peopleโs bookshelves.
3โA plastic packet containing shampoo, mustard, etc., which is impossible to open except by biting off
the corners.
4โGeneric term for anything that comes out in a gush, despite all your efforts to let it out carefully, e.g., flour into a white sauce, ketchup onto fish, a dog into the yard, and another naughty meaning that we canโt put on the cover.
5โThe marks left on your bottom and thighs after youโve been sitting sunbathing in a wicker chair.
6โGod knows what this means
7โFor instance, some of this book was first published in Britain twenty-six years ago.
8โLook it up yourself. ISBN:9780307236012
