KNOWLEDGE CARDS: FORGOTTEN ENGLISH III

Amusing to our modern ear, the definitions of these 48 forgotten words are cause for laughter—at someone else's expense. Each Knowledge Card introduces an antiquated insult and its dusty definition, complete with descriptions of the origins of the insult and some examples of usage. Describe your nosy neighbor who is a spatherdab (chatterer, gossip, or scandle-monger) or a strange officemate who is a gongoozler (idle person who stands staring for prolonged periods at anything out of the ordinary) with glee!

Jeffrey Kacirk, author of the books Forgotten English (William Morrow, 1997) and The Word Museum (Simon and Schuster, 2000), has compiled these hilarious verbal affronts that will keep you readily armed with vocal indignities from as far back as the mid-sixteenth century. Don't miss his other Forgotten English Knowledge Card Decks published by Pomegranate.