Gallimaufry: A Hodgepodge of our Vanishing Vocabulary
Product Description:
When did you last hear someone refer to the wireless? What was the original paraphernalia? Would you wear a billycock?
Language is always changing, and in Gallimaufry: A Hodge-Podge of Words Vanishing from Our Vocabulary Michael Quinion has gathered together some fascinating examples of words and meanings which have vanished from our language. Sometimes a word is lost when the thing it describes becomes obsolete, sometimes it survives in a figurative sense while the original meaning is lost, and sometimes it simply gives way to a more popular alternative. The story of these and many other words opens a window into the lives of past speakers of the English language.
Subjects: Gift books, Language & Linguistics, Language Arts & Disciplines, Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy, Language, Etymology, Reference, Vocabulary, Language Arts & Disciplines / Reference, Language Arts & Disciplines / Vocabulary, English language, Obsolete words,
Quinion's Quirky Quodlibet
Gallimaufry (noun) - 1. a dish made up of leftovers 2. a miscellaneous jumble or medley
Yup, that pretty much defines the contents of British lexicographer Michael Quinion's fourth book of word stories. His previous book, Port Out, Starboard Home and Other Language Myths (2004) was a surprise big seller. It was no surprise to me because I've been following his work for years. He is the proprietor of an indispensable website, World Wide Words ( www.worldwidewords.org ) that is well-known to word-freaks like me.
'Gallimaufry' focuses on the stories behind words that are disappearing (or have disappeared) from the language. It is divided into sections on food and drink, health and medicine, entertainment and leisure, transport and fashion and concludes with a delightful section on names, employment, and communications. We get the stories behind such words as (to take examples only from the transport section) brougham (named for a former Lord Chancellor), landau, barouche, cab (née cabriolet), hansom, and taxi, among others. Did you know that the original form of 'taxi' was 'taximeter cabriolet'? The 'taximeter' -- 'taxi', tariff; 'meter' measure -- part of the name indicated that a cab was the first public vehicle to measure the distance a fare was taken and to charge accordingly.
Quinion's style is lighthearted while learned. I found myself turning pages just to see what was next. Admittedly I'm fascinated by words, having been a reader for the Oxford English Dictionary for a number of years, but Quinion's way of explaining word histories is unfailingly delightful and I think this book could be as interesting to the non-word-freak as was, say, Bill Bryson's book, 'The Mother Tongue.' And it's a lot more factual.
Typography is attractive -- the subject words are in bold print, making browsing easy -- and there is a full index of the words treated in the text.
This book would make a fine birthday or other gift for the right sort of reader.
Scott Morrison
