HOTCOCKLES AND TWITTLE-TWATTLE

Have you ever lent a bedpresser a heavy lazy fellow a muckender handkerchief Or felt your mind skimbleskamble wander in the company of an abecedarian one who teaches the alphabet With the publication of all 2 300 pages of Samuel Johnson s dictionary in 1755 the English language irrevocably changed Suddenly words were standardised listed with fixed grammar spelling and neat applications But hidden inside these two colossal volumes is a smaller forgotten dictionary of words that have since fallen out of vogue From the hilarious to the arcane Liz Drury has compiled the best words from Johnson s dictionary that have justly or unjustly been forgotten Inspired by the British Library s first edition of Johnson s dictionary this playful and engaging lexicon in the perfect gift for any wordsmith looking to play the Dictionary Game or simply expand their vocabulary with a touch of Enlightenment