Word Perfect: Etymological Entertainment For Every Day of the Year
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-12-28 00:51:31
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- 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
David Ames
，
5 stars。 A great read， and one I've savoured throughout the year to better appreciate it （reading in one or two sittings would be ill-advised I think）。 Endlessly fascinating and often very funny。 5 stars。 A great read， and one I've savoured throughout the year to better appreciate it （reading in one or two sittings would be ill-advised I think）。 Endlessly fascinating and often very funny。 。。。more
Sarah
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Lately， I have been really enjoying Susie Dent’s “word of the day” tweets， they have helped me through a rather bleak feeling winter， so I just had to pick up a copy of Word Perfect。 It did not disappoint！It contains a different word for each day of the year， followed by a story and/or the etymology。 It’s endlessly fascinating how the meaning of words change over the years/centuries。 Language is fluid; beautiful and expressive。 This was the ideal book to read through whilst I am currently fixate Lately， I have been really enjoying Susie Dent’s “word of the day” tweets， they have helped me through a rather bleak feeling winter， so I just had to pick up a copy of Word Perfect。 It did not disappoint！It contains a different word for each day of the year， followed by a story and/or the etymology。 It’s endlessly fascinating how the meaning of words change over the years/centuries。 Language is fluid; beautiful and expressive。 This was the ideal book to read through whilst I am currently fixated on words and language， which is a writer’s dream。 This will make for perfect writing prompts， whether for personal journaling or further， future works。 I may go back over it and read one word a day starting in the new year so they don’t escape my mind， and try to write a short story or poem around each word。 I want to become a better writer， I know my skills will allow it the more I practice。 Then maybe one day， I shall be comfortable enough to share my work with others。 。。。more
Christina
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I love Susie Dent's collection of useful and fascinating words。 It's a great book for anyone who loves language。 I love Susie Dent's collection of useful and fascinating words。 It's a great book for anyone who loves language。 。。。more
Wendy Hunter
，
A nice diversion。
Cynthia Wheelehan
，
I love it - my new， learn something new everyday go to - It will take exactly 365 days to read this ！
Laura Hands
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Words you've never heard before， words you used without knowing the meaning and history。 A really interesting read！ Words you've never heard before， words you used without knowing the meaning and history。 A really interesting read！ 。。。more
Hamid
，
Fun read。 Easy to pick up piecemeal because structured around the days of the year - an etymology a day。 Would have been interesting to look into the etymologies of more current phrases。 There are a few nods towards COVID etc but would have been grand to examine common words derived from our minority cultures。 Perhaps saving it for another book。 The entry structure varies from pretty detailed with asides to extremely brief 'what can I say' bits so can be a little inconsistent。 These are minor co Fun read。 Easy to pick up piecemeal because structured around the days of the year - an etymology a day。 Would have been interesting to look into the etymologies of more current phrases。 There are a few nods towards COVID etc but would have been grand to examine common words derived from our minority cultures。 Perhaps saving it for another book。 The entry structure varies from pretty detailed with asides to extremely brief 'what can I say' bits so can be a little inconsistent。 These are minor complaints。 Will likely keep referring back to many of the entries。 。。。more
Lucy
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A word a day， for a year。 Loved it and learnt a lot
Zara
，
I got this book for Christmas 2020， and have been gradually working my way through it。I have loved learning new words each day， or learning the meaning behind common words and phrases。The book is set out in a diary format， so it is easy to pick up each day， and read that day's word and explanation。A fantastic gift for all word lovers！ I got this book for Christmas 2020， and have been gradually working my way through it。I have loved learning new words each day， or learning the meaning behind common words and phrases。The book is set out in a diary format， so it is easy to pick up each day， and read that day's word and explanation。A fantastic gift for all word lovers！ 。。。more
Jan Duthie
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Thoroughly enjoyed this book。 Language revisited
Tony
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An almanac and etymological wonderland in one。 For extra fun， get it as an audiobook to hear Susie's pronunciations。 A book I would （and have） heartily recommend to everyone。 An almanac and etymological wonderland in one。 For extra fun， get it as an audiobook to hear Susie's pronunciations。 A book I would （and have） heartily recommend to everyone。 。。。more
Jon Brady
，
A little shallow as a reference book but Word Perfect doesn’t pretend to be anything more than what it is: a whimsical trip through words tied to various dates， events and people throughout the year。 Reminded me how magical language is。
Hannah D
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Well， I've been trying to read this wonderful book one new word per assigned day at a time but Susie Dent is just too marvellous and I couldn't resist finishing it！ Delightfully interesting。 Well， I've been trying to read this wonderful book one new word per assigned day at a time but Susie Dent is just too marvellous and I couldn't resist finishing it！ Delightfully interesting。 。。。more
Asher
，
I really like this book， but this hellhole of a year has not put my brain in a position where I can do things like read a section of the same book every day。Beautifully written， great content， and a joy to dip in and out of。 I'm going to read this one day。 I really like this book， but this hellhole of a year has not put my brain in a position where I can do things like read a section of the same book every day。Beautifully written， great content， and a joy to dip in and out of。 I'm going to read this one day。 。。。more
Clare
，
Actual rating: 4。5/5
Pandafeet
，
I tried my best to last the year but on the end had finished in early August。 A lovely book of words。
Maria
，
An absolute delight from the ever refreshing Susie Dent。 With a word for every day of the year， you are bound to come across some memorable terms， ciphers， digits even in this prettily packaged work。And yes， I've tried to be 'wordy' in my description。 😃 An absolute delight from the ever refreshing Susie Dent。 With a word for every day of the year， you are bound to come across some memorable terms， ciphers， digits even in this prettily packaged work。And yes， I've tried to be 'wordy' in my description。 😃 。。。more
Jamie Bowen
，
A word for the day for every day of the year， by the wonderful Susie Dent。 It explores the wonder of the English language from long forgotten words to the source of terms like Jack the Lad。 A highly informative book but with Susie’s humour spread throughout， it’s a fantastic book。
Emmett
，
This book had some fun etymology in it， and I learned about a variety of words and where their origins， but the book was organized in a way that was tough to sit down and read。 It was designed to read a page or two a day， which is not how I usually read a book and was tough to get into because of that。
Claire
，
Thoroughly enjoyable book on the meaning of different words for throughout the year （one for each day）。 Certainly learnt a thing or two！
Kinga
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Solid
Whispering Stories
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Book Reviewed on www。whisperingstories。comWord Perfect from Susie Dent is a book filled with words you either don’t often hear these days or the original meaning behind these words has long been forgotten。 The book is set out in a diary format， so that you have one word a day， beginning on New Years Day with the word ‘Crambazzled’ which in old Yorkshire dialect means to be prematurely aged through excess drinking， a word a lot of people could use on the 1st January。I love finding new words and s Book Reviewed on www。whisperingstories。comWord Perfect from Susie Dent is a book filled with words you either don’t often hear these days or the original meaning behind these words has long been forgotten。 The book is set out in a diary format， so that you have one word a day， beginning on New Years Day with the word ‘Crambazzled’ which in old Yorkshire dialect means to be prematurely aged through excess drinking， a word a lot of people could use on the 1st January。I love finding new words and some are intriguing such as ‘Choreomania’ which is the compulsion to dance。 What’s more， is that every word not only has a definition but it also contains information about its origins and a factual story about something related to it。 In this case， in 1374 in the town of Aachen， Germany it is recorded that the citizens congregated en masse and began to dance uncontrollably。This is a book that will fill those who love to learn and gain knowledge with giddy excitement。 365 words， their origins， meanings， and factual information contained in one book written in an easy-to-understand style， and with the diary format you could choose to learn one new word a day。 Although I’m not quite accurate in saying just one word a day or 365 words as each word often has others contained within the information that is related to the given word， so in fact， you are getting a lot more than you would expect。I enjoyed learning about the words。 Whether they will stay in my head and I remember to use them as and when the time arises is a different matter。 The book is very British and there will be words that those around the world will never have heard of。 There are also some that British people will never have heard of because they are regional words never heard outside of their city of origin or mean something different in different parts of the country。Overall， this is a book for those who love etymology and want to broaden their range。 。。。more
Matt Whitby
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A fun book。 Hundreds of words that were new to me， but sadly I won't remember a single one。 A fun book。 Hundreds of words that were new to me， but sadly I won't remember a single one。 。。。more
Valerie Sells
，
An interesting read and easy to 'hear' Susie Dent's voice in it as I went along。 Always interested in where words and phrases come from and some of the orgins were really surprising！ Some entries were slightly less riveting， especially when I didn't know the word/phrase in the first place， but all-in-all， quite an enjoyable read。 An interesting read and easy to 'hear' Susie Dent's voice in it as I went along。 Always interested in where words and phrases come from and some of the orgins were really surprising！ Some entries were slightly less riveting， especially when I didn't know the word/phrase in the first place， but all-in-all， quite an enjoyable read。 。。。more
Alina
，
it felt like it took forever to read this - 365 words is actually quite a lot of words to explore。 regardless I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was so interesting。 susie dent is unbelievably knowledgeable。 many of the chapters were funny and charming; the ‘fuck’ chapter （perhaps predictably） actually made me laugh out loud multiple times - “and there I did see him putting the great fuck upon my weef” is one of the greatest sentences I’ve ever read
Sarah Jackson
，
"Word Perfect" is a highly entertaining， word-a-day book， by the lexicological master， Susie Dent。 Dent describes the origin and meaning of various words and phrases - some in common use， others not。 One for lovers of language。 "Word Perfect" is a highly entertaining， word-a-day book， by the lexicological master， Susie Dent。 Dent describes the origin and meaning of various words and phrases - some in common use， others not。 One for lovers of language。 。。。more
Shelley Nightingale
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I love that this book is a daily habit for me now， a word a day from Susie is not only informative & interesting but often humourous too！
Linda Whitney
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Liked book， but with reservationsI love entomology and the origin of phrases so I quickly snagged this book。 I can relate to the author as I was also an odd child， carrying books everywhere I went。 Since this is a daily look at words it doesn’t get very in depth with each one。 It often trails off into meanings of other words without skipping a beat which was a little confusing。 Since the author is British she included many words and sayings that most Americans had never heard。
Helen Palmer
，
My inner geek linguist loved it。 Abflaut reduction rocks！
Pippa
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