Endangered Words: A collection of rare gems for word lovers

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Endangered Words

Amazon.com

Commonwealth edition

Publishing information   Further reading — web sites   Further reading — books   From the back cover “When a word perfectly captures a human truth, humans respond to it in the same way that they respond to a beautiful melody. They smile. They nod their heads. They tell others of their discovery.” So says Simon Hertnon in his introduction to Endangered Words, and after wrapping your tongue around the lexical rarities he offers, you’ll agree! Hertnon provides one hundred hand-selected delectable words, and, in a virtuoso display of concinnity and logodaedaly, he breathes life into them with his lucid descriptions of their meaning and engaging examples of their usage. Filled with words to be treasured for their elegant precision, from anacampserote to sprezzatura to zemblanity, Endangered Words will inspire writers, entertain readers, and provide an unusual resource for anyone with an appetite for the fun and unusual side of the English language. How Simon describes the book When it comes to words, English speakers are 'spoilt for choice'. There is nearly a word for everything, but we are overwhelmed by options and, typically, our language is bland and uninspiring. I think of From Afterwit to Zemblanity as a gallery of fine words, and a stroll through it will introduce you to words that will give you reason to pause and consider. Some words will hit you between the eyeballs, others will simply make you laugh, or recognise, or appreciate, or reconsider. But every word will remind you of the choices we can all make, if only we take the time to explore and discern.

Read the book? Want to share a 'valuable' rare word with others? Email your word to Simon via simon[at]nakedize.com.

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Further reading — web sites