Language – Page 8 – Interesting Literature

12 Interesting Facts about Dictionaries

Have you heard the one-line joke, usually attributed to Steven Wright, about the dictionary? ‘I finally got around to reading the dictionary’, it goes. ‘Turns out the zebra did it.’ It’s a good joke, but of course ‘zebra’ isn’t the last word in any English dictionary worth the name (what about ‘zoo’, for starters?), and besides, Steven Wright probably never said it. Still, we’ll overlook that and get on with this post comprising a dozen of the choicest and most fascinating facts about dictionaries down the ages.

The first English dictionary, A Table Alphabeticall, published in 1604, described itself as being ‘for the benefit of Ladies … or other unskilfull persons’.

Chambers Dictionary defines a kazoo as ‘a would-be musical instrument’ and an éclair as ‘a cake, long in shape but short in duration’.

7 Great Words and Phrases Coined by H. L. Mencken

A septet of great words invented by the American wit, H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)

H. L. Mencken (Henry Louis Mencken, to give him his full name) was born on this day in 1880, so to toast this great American journalist, critic, and all-round wit, we’ve put together a list of seven words and phrases he is thought to have originated. Fans of word-origins may also enjoy our pick of the most enjoyable and amusing words P. G. Wodehouse invented.

BOOBOISIE: In 1922, Mencken coined the word ‘booboisie’ for uncultured and uneducated members of the general public, i.e. ‘boobs’, modelling the word after the more famous ‘bourgeoisie’.

The Interesting Origins of the Phrase ‘Swings and Roundabouts’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Where does the phrase ‘swings and roundabouts’ originate? It’s widely believed that it had its origins in a little-known poem by Irish writer Patrick Reginald Chalmers (1872-1942). Chalmers was a banker as well as a poet, and he also wrote biographies of several literary figures, including author of Peter Pan J. M. Barrie and The Wind in the Willows author Kenneth Grahame. (Curiously enough, we’ve delved into another phrase, the Wildean quip ‘I am not young enough to know everything‘, and traced it back to Barrie.)

10 Great Words That Describe People’s Annoying Habits

The best words for describing people and their annoying habits

The subject of this post is somewhat niche, we’ll admit, but here at Interesting Literature we love the English language and the fact that at some point in its rich history a word has been invented for just about everything, or so it would seem. In this post we’ve confined ourselves to those particularly vexing and irritating things which people do – whether online, in person, outside your bedroom window, or in tedious meetings at work. It’s fascinating, for instance, to learn there’s a word for people who use overly long pretentious-sounding words. (In fact, there are several, but we’ll avoid getting unnecessarily sesquipedalian here.) If you enjoy these words, be sure to have a look at our list of rare but useful words everyone should know.

Girouettism is the practice of frequently altering personal opinions to follow popular trends. Aptly, it comes from a girouette, another name for a weather-cock. Just as a weather-cock changes its position according to the wind, so a figurative ‘girouette’ is a fair-weather sort who changes their metaphorical ‘position’ according to what’s ‘in’ at the moment. The term dates from the 1820s.

35 Great Drinking Words and Synonyms for ‘Drunk’

Some interesting synonyms for ‘drunk’, plus other useful words relating to drinking

There are few words that have more colourful synonyms than ‘drunk’, ‘intoxicated’, ‘soused’, ‘pickled’ – whatever you choose to call a state of alcohol-induced inebriation. Writers have often drawn on these synonyms for intoxication, and have even added or popularised some of their own. For instance, the great comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, as we revealed in our post on 10 great words he coined, invented one or two. But this is our list of some of the more unusual and descriptive terms for states of drunkenness. So grab a glass of your favourite tipple and imbibe these fine words.