The Horologicon

September 30, 2013
In his latest linguistic endeavor, Forsyth (The Etymologicon) takes a day trip to the land of lost words, encountering obscure words in the course of a typical day. This is not a book to be gulped down at a sitting, but gently masticated to be savored in small bites. Arranged by activities appropriate to the hour of the day, Forsyth begins the day with the word Uhtceare, meaning "lying awake before dawn and worrying" and moves all the way to night time with the phrase "myoclonic jerk" referring to the twitch that occurs as your body drifts to sleep. There are few activities that Forsyth's wry wit doesn't cover. Though many of his terms are admittedly outdated, he cleverly appropriates them to modern time. Such when he discusses his most common form of email: e-mail of Uriah meaning "a treacherous email, implying friendship but in reality a death warrant." His irreverent commentary on the history of the terms and when to use them is worth reading even if one doesn't have the courage to declare it is quafftide ("the time of drink") among friends. Some words are borrowed from languages like Yiddish and Tillicum, where they are still used in daily conversation, but most are sadly forgotten English expressions. Every page contains a new jewel for logophiles and verbivores everywhere.