Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages by Ammon Shea is a book that is sure to please word-lovers. This book chronicles Shea’s journey of reading all 21,730 pages of the twenty-volume Oxford English Dictionary in one year, usually reading 8-10 hours per day. I like how this book is divided with each letter having its own chapter. Each chapter starts with text about Shea, events throughout his year, editorial feuds, histories of dictionaries, etcetera, and ends with a list of some of the most interesting words from that particular letter. Shea provides simple definitions for the words and includes often-hilarious paragraphs about origins, usage or thoughts. I never knew a dictionary could be such rollicking fun.
Here are some of the words that I found most interesting and am already planning to sprinkle into conversations. (I have only included the word and definition.)
Airling: A person who is both young and thoughtless
Nod-crafty: Given to nodding the head with an air of great wisdom
Onomatomania: vexation at having difficulty in finding the right word
Psithurism: The whisperings of leaves moved by the wind.
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