A Word A Day: A Romp Through Some of the Most Unusual and Intriguing Words in English

This book was a hit at a going away party for my der friend whom came in every day and supplied us with a new word to learn. We enjoed sharing this book. He loved the new words to carry on his legacy!!

Words. While many of us don't usually require a very large vocabulary, we do need to know the meaning of the words we, and others, use. For example, when a friend tells us with pride they just passed a difficult test about oology, who among us would not be embarrassed by not knowing oology is the study of birds' eggs? And you could surprise your dentist next visit by informing him you have a friend with disatema - a gap between two adjacent teeth. Both those and many other interesting words are in this excellent book, which should be in every word lover's library.

This was an excellent gift for someone who is very interested in the English landuage

Anu's Word.A.Day online list of words at work and at play has been delighting subscribers since 1994. This compendium is full of the kind of verbal nuggets you can read at your desk, your bedside, or even the breakfast table, rejoicing in derivations, roots, wandering meanings, and obscure contexts.

I am subscribed to the Word a Day on email and I love it and the pronunciation hints, meanings, etymology, usages, and thoughts of the day that are provided. I bought this companion book as a gift for my 14 year old nephew who is interested in the Latin roots and definitions of words. He was fascinated with his gift.

I got this for my homeschooled teen son and we have had a lot of fun going through it. I highly recommend this book.

It's really fun to read it. I'm looking forward to acquire more books by this gifted author.

This a companion to last book...love it!

Finally a book to go with the email, this book is a great way to increase your vocabulary, one day at a time!

It was a present for my grand daughter. She is mad about the English language, and this book is fascinating to students such as my grand daughter.

Gud

最近では毎日英語の単語や語句とその意味を配信してくれるウエブサイトが多い。Anu Cargが主催するWordsmithもそのようなサイトの一つで、A Word A Day (音声発音、語義、語源、用例付)を配信している。本書はそれを基に55のトピックにまとめたものである。すべてのトピックを紹介するスペースはないので、ここでは２つのトピックを紹介するにとどめよう。一つは「OEDの新語」である。周知のようにOEDはOED3向けてオンラインで改訂中である。５語が紹介されている。Full monty (Full Monty, full Monty) (一切合財、全裸(の))、bad hair day(ついていない悪い日)、nutraceutical (機能食品) [nutrient とpharmaceuticalの鞄語(portmanteau)」、retail therapy (（ストレスを発散させるための）ショッピング療法)、webliography (ウエブ参照目録) [webとbibliographyの鞄語]。最初の三語はすでに『ジーニアス英和大辞典』などに入っているので、もはや新語とは言えないが、後の２語は未収録である（『リーダーズ英和辞典』第三版(2012)でようやく収録された）。OEDは冊子体の時は新語の登録に慎重であったが、オンラインでは大胆である。紹介したい２つ目トピックは通俗語源(folk etymology)である。一語だけ紹介しょう。humble pie はもともとはumble pie で「シカなどの内臓で作ったパイ」であったが、身分の低い１(humble)使用人が食べたので、humble pie となったという。現在ではeat a humble pie (甘んじて屈辱を受ける)の慣用連語で用いられる。などなどおよそ300語にまつわる話が満載されている。書名にあるようにunusual and intriguing wordsが多いが、語彙力のある人には、英語の語彙の豊かさを十分に満喫できる書である。続刊も出ている。合わせて読むとlogophile の仲間入りができるだろう。

I read A Word a Day most days and make notes on unusual words especially those derived from people - famous or infamous. Highly recommended volume.