The Horologicon

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

By: Mark Forsyth

Narrated by: Don Hagen

Do you wake up feeling rough? Then you’re philogrobolized. Find yourself pretending to work? That’s fudgelling. And this could lead to rizzling, if you feel sleepy after lunch. Though you are sure to become a sparkling deipnosopbist by dinner. Just don’t get too vinomadefied; a drunk dinner companion is never appreciated. The Horologicon (or book of hours) contains the most extraordinary words in the English language, arranged according to what hour of the day you might need them. From Mark Forsyth, the author of the number-one international best seller The Etymologicon comes an audiobook of weird words for familiar situations. From ante-jentacular to snudge by way of quafftide and wamblecropt, at last you can say, with utter accuracy, exactly what you mean.

©2013 Mark Forsyth (P)2014 Gildan Media LLC

Critic reviews

"A breezy, amusing stroll through the uncommon histories of some common English words… Snack-food style blends with health-food substance for a most satisfying meal." ( Kirkus Reviews)

Funny!

Hilariously self-aware of its own nerdiness. Fascinating history of words long lost. Excellently performed. I believe they were mostly British English words, but nothing was lost on me as an American. Highly recommend for all word enthusiasts.
#humorous #witty #educational #tagsgiving #sweepstake

Funny funny fun fun.

Love all the books by this author. The humor is wonderful. You will love this book.

Better to sample in sips than to gulp down

I don't think I can be fair, stars-wise. The author wisely cautions the reader not to sit down and plow straight through the book, and he was right. I opted to listen to the audiobook (it was a Daily Deal on Audible awhile ago), and I don't listen in fits and spurts, but straight-through. The author was simply delightful, and the narrator was superb, but the content wasn't something to hold your attention for any long amount of time, so I found myself listening quite half-heartedly. But the author's asides and turns of phrase are wonderfully droll, and I am certainly interested in sampling his other works.

So, this wasn't a high-star book for me, but I think my lack of engagement was my own fault and don't want to drag down the rating by posting low.

A Book Needing A 2nd go just for fun.

Mark's command of the English language is tremendous. I enjoy the jaunt through the day using these words that I wish I knew. I am finding I need to read this book of second maybe third time just so I can begin to remember the wonderful gold nuggets that are found in this Treasure of a book.

Writer and narrator dynamic duo

I really like this author, but Don Hagen is the icing on the cake. This is the second book by Mark Forsyth that I've listened. I'm relieved there is someone else who wonders about random trivia, and furthermore consolidates it into one book for those of us who don't have the resources or time to do it ourselves. Don Hagen's relaxed narration is natural and at times comical. I intend to collect all of these books. Others read by Don Hagen were by author David McRaney, which are also very entertaining.