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whiffle (1972) a soft sound as of gently moving air or water

TINCTURE

We can all name the primary colours: red, yellow and blue; not to mention the secondaries: purple, green and orange; after that, it’s anyone’s guess:

gamboge (1634) bright yellow (from gum-resin)

fulvous (1664) tawny, yellow tinged with red

ianthine (1609) violet coloured

glaucous (1671) a pale green passing into greyish blue

nacreous (1841) a pearly lustre

lyard (Chaucer c.1386) silvery grey almost white

VERY FLAT, NORFOLK

Dialects have their own words for colour, often reflecting the landscapes they come from:

blake (Cumberland) a yellowish golden colour

bazzom (Newfoundland) purplish tint, heather-coloured; of flesh, blue or discoloured

watchet (Midlands 1891) light blue

dunduckytimur (Norfolk and Suffolk) a dull, indescribable colour

UP BETIMES

Time waits for no man. So we might as well be certain precisely what we mean:

ughten (971) the dusk just before dawn

blue o’clock in the morning (1886) pre-dawn, when black sky gives way to purple

beetle-belch (RAF jargon) an ungodly hour

sparrow-fart (b.1910) daybreak, very early morning

beever (Sussex) eleven o’clock luncheon

upright and downstraight (Sussex) bedtime when the clock says six

blind-man’s-holiday (Shropshire) twilight

cockshut (1594) evening time

PROVIDENTIAL

If you want something to come off well, choose your date with care:

Egyptian day (Yorkshire) an unlucky day, a Friday, which was a day of abstinence

pully-lug day (Cumberland 1886) a day on which traditionally ears might be pulled with impunity

cucumber time (b.1810) the quiet season in the tailoring trade (hence the expression tailors are vegetarians as they live on cucumber when without work)

Saint Tibb’s Eve (Cornwall) a day that never comes

when hens make holy water (1631) never

THINGUMMY

When all is said and done, however, there are just some things that remain very hard to put your finger on:

oojiboo (1918) an unnamed thing, a whatsit

feelimageeries (Scotland 1894) knick-knacks, odds and ends

hab nab (1580) at random, at the mercy of chance, hit or miss

gazodjule (Australian slang) a name for an object of which one cannot remember the name

floccinaucinihilipilification (1741) the categorizing of something that is useless or trivial

WORD JOURNEYS

point-blank (16C from French) a white spot (as in a target)

punctual (14C from Latin) pertinent to a point or dot

normal (17C from Latin via French) rectangular, perpendicular

paraphernalia (17C from Ancient Greek) articles of personal property which the law allows a married woman to regard as her own

algebra (14C from Arabic via Medieval Latin) the reunion of broken parts

* Obviously, not to be confused with hangouderen (Dutch), pensioners who have nothing to do but hang around in considerable numbers in shopping malls and hamburger bars (literally, hanging elderly)

* Slang that works when read or written backwards

Table of Contents

Cover

About the Author

Title Page

Copyright Page

Contents

Dedication

Introduction

Acknowledgements

I Never Knew There Was a Word For It

The Meaning of Tingo

Meeting and Greeting

¡Hola!

Just say the word

Expectant

Hey you!

Cripes!

Chinwag

Breakdown in communication

Tittle-tattle

The unspeakable …

… the unmentionable

… and the unutterable

Shocking soundalikes

Fare well

An Arabian goodbye

From Top to Toe

Use your onion …

… or use your nut

Pulling faces

Greek face-slapping

Windows of the soul

All ears

A real mouthful

Getting lippy

Hooter

Albanian face fungus

Bearded wonder

Bad hair day

Teething troubles

Getting it in the neck

Armless in Nicaragua

Safe pair of hands

Legging it

Footloose

Mind the gap

Skin deep

Covering up

English clothing

Movers and Shakers

Shanks’s pony

Walking in Zimbabwe

Malaysian movements

Ups …

… and downs

What-d’you-call-it