Tag Archives: Fun

Blooks—fake books

I found this interesting article in today’s New York Times, about fake books—some blooks are ornate, useful or just plain fun.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/books/a-secret-in-every-tome-no-text-required.html?

More blooks: The Aesthetic Allure of Books Without Pages

I own a blook, though it’s more of home security device or hidey-hole, as it resembles a boring brown leather bound Victorian tome on the shelf, but it’s actually a box.

The Science of Silly Words

This article from the Guardian made me smile.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/26/from-whong-to-quingel-what-makes-a-word-funny

I’m sure that we all have favourite silly words. Diphthong sounds a lot ruder than it is, while dongle is always good for a smirk – such as when innocently saying things such as “I recharged my dongle” or “I dropped my dongle down the back of the sofa.”

Scrumping is something that I did a lot of as a child, as there was an abandoned orchard nearby, and the word is pleasingly silly and naughty, inviting emphasis when said—and I wouldn’t feel a wazzock for doing so.

I like the word copacetic, which I came across in James Lee Burke’s novels, before living in Atlanta, Georgia for three years. I was delighted to hear people using it there. It’s definitely an Americanism, and I like throwing it into conversations as most Brits wonder what the hell I’m saying!

Do you have any favourites?

Image result for copacetic cartoon