Word Perfect: Etymological Entertainment For Every Day of the Year
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-07-27 14:16:35
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Susie Dent
- ISBN：1529311489
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
'Susie Dent is a one-off。 She breathes life and fun into words and language' Pam Ayres
'Susie Dent is a national treasure' Richard Osman
Welcome to a year of wonder with Susie Dent， lexicographer， logophile， and longtime queen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner。
From the real Jack the Lad to the theatrically literal story behind stealing someone's thunder， from tartle （forgetting someone's name at the very moment you need it） to snaccident （the unintentional eating of an entire packet of biscuits）， WORD PERFECT is a brilliant linguistic almanac full of unforgettable stories， fascinating facts， and surprising etymologies tied to every day of the year。 You'll never be lost for words again。
'Susie Dent is a national treasure' Richard Osman
Welcome to a year of wonder with Susie Dent， lexicographer， logophile， and longtime queen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner。
From the real Jack the Lad to the theatrically literal story behind stealing someone's thunder， from tartle （forgetting someone's name at the very moment you need it） to snaccident （the unintentional eating of an entire packet of biscuits）， WORD PERFECT is a brilliant linguistic almanac full of unforgettable stories， fascinating facts， and surprising etymologies tied to every day of the year。 You'll never be lost for words again。
Reviews
Alexander
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Thank you my lovely for getting this for me。
Dhagedorn
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Very entertaining etymology
Mary A
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Who doesn’t love a book about the origin of words？This book was funny， fascinating and full of interesting facts about the development of the English language。Well worth reading。
Giles Revelstoke
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Susie Dent is one of England's foremost lexicographers。 This book introduces a word， or phrase in a one-per-day format。 It is not a typical dictionary。 It is a combination dictionary and study in etymology （with a little history and humour thrown in for color）。 An interesting way to begin your day。 Highly recommended！ Susie Dent is one of England's foremost lexicographers。 This book introduces a word， or phrase in a one-per-day format。 It is not a typical dictionary。 It is a combination dictionary and study in etymology （with a little history and humour thrown in for color）。 An interesting way to begin your day。 Highly recommended！ 。。。more
Sarah
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So much fascinating information about all sorts of things you didn't know you wanted to。 Not one to read in big chunks， much better to dip in and out of。 So much fascinating information about all sorts of things you didn't know you wanted to。 Not one to read in big chunks， much better to dip in and out of。 。。。more
Melita
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Susie Dent is gold。
Aaron Webb
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Excellent read。 Keen to dive into other books by Susie。 Easy to pick up & flick back to interesting days。
Ellie
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I listened to this as an audiobook。 Well ready by the author， a funny and interesting listen。
amie （amjamreads）
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An entertaining and digestible introduction to etymology
MAK
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Good book。 The author is British so some words might not be familiar to Americans。
Jay Hall
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Beautifully written and researched， Susie Dent brings forgotten words to life and explains the forgotten origins of so many common words and phrases。
Alexandra
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Fascinating etymology and easy to dip into on a daily basis
Isabelle
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I found this book to be a delightful surprise！ I had a feeling I'd like it， but didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did somehow。 Not knowing what word or phrase the next day would bring was quite thrilling and the discovery was very entertaining！ I was happily surprised to discover that the word for my birthday （August 21st） is "Oxford Comma" which pleased me greatly as I am a self professed nerd for grammar！ The one note I have would be that the audio （I listened to this on Audible） dipped w I found this book to be a delightful surprise！ I had a feeling I'd like it， but didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did somehow。 Not knowing what word or phrase the next day would bring was quite thrilling and the discovery was very entertaining！ I was happily surprised to discover that the word for my birthday （August 21st） is "Oxford Comma" which pleased me greatly as I am a self professed nerd for grammar！ The one note I have would be that the audio （I listened to this on Audible） dipped weirdly at times and got louder at others - I don't know if this was somehow my sound system/phone or if it was part of the recording， but I haven't had it with any other audio books 🤷♀️ Overall this audio book was a delight and definitely one that I'll be coming back to！！ 🥰 。。。more
PenguinKaiser
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Es un libro genial para nerds como yo， ya que se trata de un libro sobre lexicografía y etimología，es decir el origen y uso de las palabras a través de la historia。 Es informativo y divertido en partes iguales， pero reconozco que no es para todos。 Si son fans de la historia de las palabras o de las trivias （y chismes en general） se los recomiendo。
Kendra Jackson
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This was an interesting book and I learned a lot; as well as the etymological roots， some new words and the meanings of words of which I’d heard but didn’t entirely understand。My mistake was trying to read it as a novel - probably best dipped in and out of。 And I’ve seen the word ‘riff’ enough in this book to last me a lifetime！If you like to know the history behind words and phrases， both in common usage and those that have fallen out of favour， this is a good book for fans of Susie Dent。
Jonathan Ralph Whittaker
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I like Susie Dent and I love etymology， I'm also a fan of 'Something Rhymes With Purple'， Susie's podcast with Gyles Brandreth， who I find loathsome and irritating， but Susie more than makes up for it。 Despite this， I found 'Word Perfect' to be a bit of a slog。 Lacking in 'The Etymologicon's' slight cohesiveness ， this book was great in small doses。 Occasional tidbits were brilliant but the majority felt underwhelming。 Wonderful narrated by the author but still not as engaging as I'd hoped it wo I like Susie Dent and I love etymology， I'm also a fan of 'Something Rhymes With Purple'， Susie's podcast with Gyles Brandreth， who I find loathsome and irritating， but Susie more than makes up for it。 Despite this， I found 'Word Perfect' to be a bit of a slog。 Lacking in 'The Etymologicon's' slight cohesiveness ， this book was great in small doses。 Occasional tidbits were brilliant but the majority felt underwhelming。 Wonderful narrated by the author but still not as engaging as I'd hoped it would be。 。。。more
NiaKantorka
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Dnf。 This was a gift and I feel terrible for abandoning it for good。 I might leaf through it again but I can already tell that I won’t read it from cover to cover。 It’s set up in an okay way but it’s just not for me to read about a word each day or about words at random and why the author thinks it’s a funny or interesting one。
Yiannis
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This book by the Queen of Words， Susie Dent， begs to be read every year on repeat。 Susie introduces us to a new word/phrase and its origins every day - thus， you get a total of 365 words。 Languages， history， geography， politics， and science all blend together， unfolding the hidden etymologies of words/phrases that may be common or completely unfamiliar to you。 If you are looking to enhance your vocabulary this year or searching for secret meanings behind words that ultimately connect us all， loo This book by the Queen of Words， Susie Dent， begs to be read every year on repeat。 Susie introduces us to a new word/phrase and its origins every day - thus， you get a total of 365 words。 Languages， history， geography， politics， and science all blend together， unfolding the hidden etymologies of words/phrases that may be common or completely unfamiliar to you。 If you are looking to enhance your vocabulary this year or searching for secret meanings behind words that ultimately connect us all， look no further。 Susie's enthusiasm and love for languages， easily flows off the pages of the book and into your brain。 。。。more
Philip McLaughlin
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A fascinating collection of obscure quirky words， some of which should definitely revived for current use！。 I spent the whole of last year faithfully a word a day。 And guess what？ I'm doing it again this year！:） A fascinating collection of obscure quirky words， some of which should definitely revived for current use！。 I spent the whole of last year faithfully a word a day。 And guess what？ I'm doing it again this year！:） 。。。more
Jon Shanks
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Throughout a year of ups and downs， this book has been a happy constant。 A daily dose of informative nuggets on words and phrases， some new and some familiar， but maybe not fully understood until reading their entry。 I even had the pleasure of taking in Susie's "The Secret Life of Words" tour whilst reading this， which referenced some entries from the book， but discussed a lot more。 Susie Dent may seem a little quiet and mousy on Countdown， but she is very witty and has an infectious passion for Throughout a year of ups and downs， this book has been a happy constant。 A daily dose of informative nuggets on words and phrases， some new and some familiar， but maybe not fully understood until reading their entry。 I even had the pleasure of taking in Susie's "The Secret Life of Words" tour whilst reading this， which referenced some entries from the book， but discussed a lot more。 Susie Dent may seem a little quiet and mousy on Countdown， but she is very witty and has an infectious passion for words， which really came across in her stage show and also does in this book。 。。。more
Steve Angelkov
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Lovely book full of wonderful wordplay and explanations of words in our everyday lives。
Christine Venier
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What a joy this was to read。 I loved spending that quiet moment before bed reading something new。 Every word and every anecdote was perfect and made my evening feel special。 I’ll miss reading Word Perfect every night。 I hope Susie Dent writes another collection of words or I’ll just have to pick this back up again。
Magdalena Golden
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The book that has kept me company for the entirety of 2021 as I read one （or a few， when late 🤭） entries a day。 It has been a wonderful source of interesting information， making me see interesting etymological connections I had never expected！
Tara
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Loved it！
Jes Nemergut
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This was a highly enjoyable read！ I tried to stick close to reading each day， on the day， and that resulted in topical reads and not a lot of pressure （that I always put on myself） to finish quickly。
Helen
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4。5*I love Susie Dent， so I was quite pleased when I received this book last Christmas。 I enjoyed coming across some old favourites （we all know somebody that feels the need to scurryfunge…my natural state of being）， and some new ones。 Interesting descriptions and a wide range of words。 Very enjoyable！
Andrei Vajna
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A word （or phrase） for each day of the year， with explanations on its etymology， its meaning or perhaps a story surrounding it。 Some are fun， some are interesting， some are boring， some you haven't heard of and will probably forget the instant you finish reading about them。 A word （or phrase） for each day of the year， with explanations on its etymology， its meaning or perhaps a story surrounding it。 Some are fun， some are interesting， some are boring， some you haven't heard of and will probably forget the instant you finish reading about them。 。。。more
Elise
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A wonderful， easy read。 You don’t just learn 1 word per day， each entry is chocked full of information。 Super well-researched， funny， light-hearted。 （Excuse the crassness but） a great toilet read lol and brilliant for people who just want to read a tiny bit and learn something everyday。
Skye
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Enjoyed ticking through this for the year！ Some new and interesting words
C。
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