The author of Toujours Tingo
Adam Jacot de Boinod, has written a new book:
“The Wonder of Whiffling” is a hugely enjoyable, surprising and rewarding tour around the language of the British Isles (with plenty of fine coinages from our English-speaking cousins across the pond, Down Under and elsewhere). Discover all sorts of words you’ve always wished existed but never knew, such as fornale, to spend one’s money before it has been earned; cagg, a solemn vow or resolution not to get drunk for a certain time; and petrichor, the pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell. Delving passionately into the English language, Adam Jacot de Boinod also discovers why it is you wouldn’t want to have dinner with a vice admiral of the narrow seas, why Jacobites toasted the little gentleman in black velvet, and why a Nottingham Goodnight is better than one from anywhere else.
Monsieur Jacot de Boinod1 also added, in comments to this post, the following
Delving passionately into the English language, I also discover why it is you wouldn’t want to have dinner with a vice admiral of the narrow seas, why Jacobites toasted the little gentleman in black velvet, and why a Nottingham Goodnight is better than one from anywhere else. See more on http://www.thewonderofwhiffling.com
Tangentially, and surprisingly, I’m at the beginning of a cagg of my own. Vowed to forswear booze for at least a month2 – my target to resume consumption is Labor Day. Why? Mostly vanity, my pants were getting a little snug, and I was polishing a couple of bottles of wine a day. Cause and effect, most likely. Anyway, possibly more on that subject
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